Description
Book SynopsisAn Englishwoman of no particular fame living in World War I Brussels started a secret diary in September 1916. Aware that her thoughts could put her in danger with German authorities, she never wrote her name on the diary and ran to hide it every time the Boches came to inspect the house. The diary survived the war and ended up in a Belgian archive, forgotten for nearly a century until historians Sophie De Schaepdrijver and Tammy M. Proctor discovered it and the remarkable woman who wrote it: Mary Thorp, a middle-aged English governess working for a wealthy Belgian-Russian family in Brussels.As a foreigner and a woman, Mary Thorp offers a unique window into life under German occupation in Brussels (the largest occupied city of World War I) and in the uncertain early days of the peace. Her diary describes the roar of cannons in the middle of the night, queues for food and supplies in the shops, her work for a wartime charity, news from an interned godson in Germany, along with elegant dinners with powerful diplomats and the educational progress of her beloved charges.Mary Thorp''s sharp and bittersweet reflections testify to the daily strains of living under enemy occupation, comment on the events of the war as they unfolded, and ultimately serve up a personal story of self-reliance and endurance. De Schaepdrijver and Proctor''s in-depth commentary situate this extraordinary woman in her complex political, social, and cultural context, thus providing an unusual chance to engage with the Great War on an intimate and personal level.
Table of ContentsIntroduction: "Still I feel I did my duty": Diary of an English Governess, 1916-1919 Historical Background: "Life in an Occupied City: Brussels" Mary Thorp's Diary Part 1: No "eleventh hour": September 1916 - February 1917 Part 2: "Qui vivra verra": March - December 1917 Part 3: "We still hear the same eternal cannon": January - October 1918 Part 4: "The Book of Peace!!!": October 1918 - January 1919 Epilogue Notes Appendix: Thorp Family Tree Bibliography
