The "Phoney War"/WW2

[whatausername]

Can anyone recommend any books about the "phoney war" or even books about WW2 more widely that also cover the phoney war period?

Just read Nella Last’s war diaries which cover this period in detail.

Are you thinking fiction or non-fiction @whatausername ? I’ve recommended this before but there’s another wartime diary called These Wonderful Rumours by May Smith, which starts right at the beginning of the war - it gradually gets more serious as hostilities really kick in, but she’s an unquenchable spirit. She was a young teacher in Derbyshire and writes incredibly vividly (and very entertainingly).

Just thought of some fiction - Tom Tiddler's Ground by Ursula Orange is set during the phoney war period. It was published in 1941 but set in '39-40. It’s on Kindle if you’re interested, @whatausername

Non-fiction, that specific period of the war I've not looked at much before.

In that case @whatausername you can’t do much better than Norman Longmate's superb How We Lived Then. It’s not recent (published 1971) but it’s a fascinating read. He uses a wealth of personal anecdote and reminiscence and it really evokes what it felt like to live through those times. Plenty of copies available secondhand quite cheaply.

I'm interested in this period; but particularly the scene in France for the bef, before Dunkirk kicked off. You hardly hear about it. I've just heard a few minutes worth of anecdotes from "eyewitness" type recollections. Presumably this would be included in a book about Dunkirk but I've no idea which would be the best.

I'm always interested in the bits leading up to and early skirmishes of wars. And then the immediate aftermath.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling on now.