Description
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2018
TLS BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2017
''Generous and empathetic ... opens up postwar migration in all its richness'' Sukhdev Sandhu, Guardian
''Groundbreaking, sophisticated, original, open-minded ... essential reading for anyone who wants to understand not only the transformation of British society after the war but also its character today'' Piers Brendon, Literary Review
''Lyrical, full of wise and original observations'' David Goodhart, The Times
The battered and exhausted Britain of 1945 was desperate for workers - to rebuild, to fill the factories, to make the new NHS work. From all over the world and with many motives, thousands of individuals took the plunge. Most assumed they would spend just three or four years here, sending most of their pay back home, but instead large numbers stayed - and transformed the country.
Drawing on an amazing array of unusual a
Trade Review
A lyrical account... deeply researched and full of wise and original observations about migration -- David Goodhart * The Times *
Strangers and Lovers is brimming with new archival sources, careful cullings of governmental documents and oral histories - the book encompasses poetry and fiction as well as sociological accounts. -- Sukhdev Sandhu * Guardian *
Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand not only the transformation of British society after the war but also its character today -- Piers Brendon * Literary Review *
Masterful... these are the stories of Britain's yesterdays, todays and tomorrows, and they could hardly be more timely. -- Christopher Kissane * Financial Times *
Her well-written, readable story evolves like a novel or film script with key characters. -- Times Higher Education
What you get in Lovers and Strangers is a mix of oral history, scholarly analysis and impressionistic essay -- Clive Davis * The Times *
The perfect post-Brexit book -- Arifa Akbar * Evening Standard *
Lovers and Strangers presents a historically rich view of immigration to Britain. Wills writes with both humour and detail about the lives of thousands of single men from Poland, Ireland, the West Indies and South Asia. Many of her tales are filled with the music, alcohol and nightlife which occupied the attentions of thousands of single men -- Burhan Wazir * Chatham House *
