We’re thrilled to welcome Jeremy Paxman to Lennoxlove this year, where he’ll discuss his new book on WW1, Great Britain’s Great War…
Jeremy Paxman's magnificent history of the First World War tells the entire story of the war in one gripping narrative from the point of view of the British people.
We may think we know about it, but what was life really like for the British people during the First World War?
The images we have of the First World War - a Tommy buried in the mud of the Western Front; the pointing finger of Lord Kitchener; the memorial poppies of remembrance day - all reinforce the idea that it was, in the end, an utterly pointless waste of life, and very little more. So why did we fight it so willingly and how did we endure it for so long?
In Great Britain’s Great War, using a wealth of first-hand source material, Jeremy Paxman brings vividly to life the day-to-day experience of the British over the entire course of the war, from politicians, newspapermen, campaigners and Generals, to Tommies, factory-workers, nurses, wives and children, capturing the whole mood and morale of the nation and explaining how life and identity in Britain were utterly transformed, not always for the worse, by this experience. Rich with personalities, surprises and ironies, this broad narrative history paints a picture of courage and confusion, doubts and dilemmas, and is written with Jeremy Paxman's characteristic flair for story-telling, wry humour and pithy observation.
Jeremy Paxman is a renowned broadcaster, award-winning journalist and the bestselling author of seven works of non-fiction, including The English, The Political Animal and Empire.
