“By far the best book I have read on the subject” Irish Times

“Enthralling...Gardiner has ranged deep and wide in the archives…her book gives us a balanced picture of Britain nationwide throughout those wearying months. Page after page of intensely humane prose bring tears, anger, horror, disgust and utter admiration in equal measure…an absorbing and truly impressive account of Hitler’s second strategic defeat” The Times

“[An] absorbing book…Gardiner makes highly effective use of the words of those who lived through the Blitz…the material she marshals so well…underlines the stubborn powers of endurance and the genuine sense of community that the Blitz did engender. It was one of the defining moments in modern British history” Sunday Times

“Thoughtful and considered…It is surprising how much fascinating new material this book unearths. It is a treasure trove of vivid, detailed anecdotes, revealing many hitherto overlooked anecdotes of life in wartime Britain” Guardian

“This book invokes the lung-filling dust, the smells of burning timber…the sentimentality of previous accounts has been replaced with realism…Gardiner focuses on the details and the results are gripping” Daily Telegraph

“With this book Juliet Gardiner has set the seal on her reputation as our premier contemporary social historian of the Home Front in the Second World War” History Today

Hardback: (HarperPress, 2010)
Paperback: (HarperPress, 2011)

“Enthralling…Gardiner has an almost cinematic sense of detail…the greatest tribute to [the] book is that it doesn’t read as a history, more a vibrant, nuanced narrative of the lives lived by our immediate predecessors” The Times

“Remarkable…Reach[es] beyond the surface of dates and facts to the more personal details neglected by historians. Every aspect of 1930s life is here…History relayed by a consummate storyteller…energetic and colourful”Observer

“Excellent….Overall she has mastered a vast number of sources and the result is a work of graceful historical imagination…captivating…full of verve and authenticity” Sunday Times

“For the depth of its research, the quality of the writing and the sheer richness and vibrancy, this is a quite outstanding work of social history” Daily Telegraph

“Monumental, rich and absorbing” Richard Overy, Literary Review

“A joy to read…Gardiner’s pen combines literary skill with historical intelligence…it would be difficult to find a richer, more seamless and colourful canvas” Sunday Express

“A work of hugely impressive research and scholarship... I cannot recommend it highly enough” Lucy Lethbridge, The Tablet

Hardback: (HarperPress, 2010)
Paperback: (HarperPress, 2011)

“I have no doubt that Wartime will become the seminal work on Britain at war” Max Arthur, Daily Mail

“In a book replete with treasures, everyone will find a special jewel…” Times Literary Supplement

“Gardiner brings off a rare combination of social history and chronological narrative…Her expertise on the subject is formidable and anyone wanting a sense of those days…will need this book: it answers more questions that any reasonable person would ask” Daily Telegraph

“Irresistibly unputdownable...Gardiner has a wide scholarly perspective” Angus Calder, author of The People’s War reviewing Wartime: Britain 1939-1945 for BBC History

“A minor monument of scholarship, this book is big in both size and scope, but biggest of all in terms of its sheer, exhilarating readability” The Scotsman

“A magnificent achievement which takes into account a great deal of recent research. The vivid personal testimony delivers an emotional punch that brings home the truth about the people’s war as the people themselves experienced it” Dr Paul Addison, Centre for the Study of Two World Wars, University of Edinburgh

Hardback: (Headline, 2004)
Paperback: (Headline, 2005)