The Way It Was: Life in Elizabeth's Britain, 1952-1979

'A tour de force about post-war Britain which delights and illuminates on every page.' David Kynaston The first part of Matthew Engel's sweeping social history of modern Britain during the reign of Elizabeth II. She came to the throne in 1952 when Britain had a far-flung empire, Winston Churchill was prime minister, sweets were rationed, mums stayed at home and kids played on bombsites. In the seventy years that followed everything changed utterly - except the Queen herself, ageing far more gracefully than the fractious nation with which she became synonymous. While the Queen is the motif for this book, the story Engel tells is not about her - it is primarily about the British. Through original research, interviews with people who were there and his own memories of the time, Matthew Engel traces the transformation of life in Britain as never before. Beginning with the death of King George VI and ending on the eve of Margaret Thatcher's election, Engel not only covers all the major historical events but also explores everyday life - from the food we ate and where we shopped, to what we watched on television and the newspapers we read.

Author: Matthew Engel
Publisher: Atlantic Books (UK)
Published: 09/07/2023
Pages: 640
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.17lbs
ISBN13: 9781786496690
ISBN10: 1786496690
BISAC Categories:
- History | Europe | Great Britain | 20th Century
- History | Social History

About the Author
Matthew Engel is a journalist and author. He has written for the Guardian and Financial Times, among other publications, and was the editor of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack for twelve years. His books include Eleven Minutes Late and Engel's England.