Peace Breaks Out (Angela Mackail Thirkell Works) [Paperback]

Angela Thirkell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995 | Series: Angela Mackail Thirkell Works

Even drama settles into circumstance, as the denizens of Barsetshire have learned through the private and public worries the Second World War has delivered to the home front. When peace breaks out, it surprises and unsettles familiar wartime routines, and the residents of Angela Thirkell's fictional world of town and country seem nearly as disconcerted as they are overjoyed. Nevertheless, as the county's eligible young men return home, the social round regains its old momentum. Before long, everyone- especially Anne Fielding, now quite grown up at nineteen- is spinning in a sweet flurry of misunderstandings and engagements.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Both published in 1947, these two novels in the publisher's ongoing series of Thirkell reprints again chronicle life in the mythical British county of Barsetshire. This duo find the area adjusting to the changes brought on by the end of World War II.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Altogether, Mrs. Thirkell is in form, and equal even to the dire contingencies of Peace. -- The New York Herald Tribune

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Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Moyer Bell and its subsidiaries (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559211881
• ISBN-13: 978-1559211888
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,164,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A visit with old and new friends, January 24, 2001

By 

J. Clark (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Peace Breaks Out (Angela Mackail Thirkell Works) (Paperback)

Reading my way through the Barsetshire Series for the second time in 5 years. They are as delightful now as they were the first time and thanks to the reprints, much easier to find.

This novel shows how the end of the war effected those in Britain, who although were relieved to welcome their loved ones home, had to suffer through rationing for many more years.

Thirkell's gentle touch with humor, recurring characters and comfortable setting all make for a wonderful escape. There are no murders or intrigue, no sex, but for me pure entertainment.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Discontent breaks out, February 27, 2004

By 

John Whelan (Ottawa, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Peace Breaks Out (Angela Mackail Thirkell Works) (Paperback)

This is one of the most disturbing of Angela Thirkell's books, seemingly the watershed between the early books which are mostly humourous but seem still connected with the time period in which they are set and the later books which even the author herself says are set in the 'cloud cuckoo land of Barsetshire'. Perhaps thr author herself was very depressed after the war or found the changes in society difficult to cope with but it becomes increasingly difficult decide when the author is being satirical or when she is indulging in propaganda for her own prefered social setup. There are still some genuinely funny passages but many of the situations in the later books seem designed as showcases for the same conversations, jokes and prejudices that have already been overly laboured in previous books- for example the superiority of a classical education.There is a fair amount of subtlety in the depictions of the aristocracy and upper gentry but other 'classes' are frequently represented as mindless morons. It may be significant the Angela Thirkell has a greater following in America than in Britain where people (myself included evrn though this is written from Canada)can still remember the times when some of the books were written or have a greater knowledge of the social history of the times. If you find you enjoy the books and don't find parts of them irritating or depressing,carry on reading them but for someone who really wants to know what life was like after the Second World War in Britain it would be better to read non-fiction accounts or any fictional author of books set in the period other than Angela Thirkell.

5.0 out of 5 stars Peace Breaks Out, June 13, 2009

By 

Barbara Aiken (Bellingham, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Peace Breaks Out (Hardcover)

Absolutely one of Thirkell's best. Not just a love story, but detail of how adjusting to peace was as difficult as the transition to war--everything in their world had changed for English County people without most of the comforts of a pre-war world. The shortages, losses, and lack of funds and coupons are now part of everyday lie; Thirkell deals with these irritants with humor and empathy.