Description

Marjorie’s War tells the story of Marjorie Secretan and her two wartime romances which were divided by tragedy. Through letters and diaries we obtain an intimate view of both relationships. Letters which were sent from home and survived the trenches are rare, and those presented here give a female and Home Front perspective on the war and its impact on Edwardian England. However, it is not just her story. Marjorie is the central character who connects the lives of four families. Drawing on an archive of over 800 unpublished letters and 400 photographs, the book also gives insight into life and death in the British Army as seen through the eyes of nine young men from these families. They all volunteered in 1914 and served as infantry and artillery officers. Unusually, the correspondence spans almost the entire duration of the First World War, since at least one of the letterwriters took part in each of the major battles on the Western Front from early 1915 onwards. The letter extracts are supported by original research and over 500 footnotes which describe their context, such as certain key actions affecting the letter-writers.