Between Friends: Letters of Vera Brittain and Winifred Holtby

Vera Brittain and Winifred Holtby's letters tell the story of an extraordinary friendship that began at Somerville College, Oxford, in 1919 and lasted until Winifred's early death at the age of thirty-seven. The letters, written from 1920 to 1935, show the life of two pioneers who wished to make their mark as writers and campaigners, with periods of literary rivalry. Vera influenced Winifred's passion for feminism and peace, while Winifred gave Vera crucial intellectual and emotional support. The letters are a portrait of the inter-war years and a dramatic, touching, and ultimately tragic story of honest female friendship.

Format: Hardback
Length: 496 pages
Publication date: 03 November 2022
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

These captivating letters between Vera Brittain and Winifred Holtby unveil the remarkable tale of an extraordinary friendship. A captivating collection, Daisy Dunn, Sunday Times, utterly fascinating, Rachel Cooke, Observer, lively, perceptive, and immaculately edited, Miranda Seymour, Literary Review, a moving, unvarnished chronicle of intellectual comradeship, Sarah Watling, Telegraph, a literary relationship that blossomed when the women met at Somerville College, Oxford, in 1919, enduring until Winifred's early demise at the age of thirty-seven. The letters, penned from 1920 to 1935, kept them perpetually connected, revealing the lives of two pioneering individuals who yearned to leave their mark as writers and activists. Each encouraged and advised the other, navigating periods of literary rivalry. Winifred secured a book deal first, followed by Vera's international bestseller, Testament of Youth. The letters showcase their negotiations with envy and self-doubt. At times, the relationship was uneven, with Vera, four years older and married with two children, while Winifred, a single woman with an adventurous spirit, traveled and forged a diverse circle of friends. As the heroine of her novel South Riding asserts, I was born to be a spinster, and by God, I'm going to spin! Vera decisively shaped Winifred's passion for feminism and peace, with Winifred acknowledging, "You made me." In turn, Winifred, who cared for Vera's children and appeased her husband, provided Vera with vital intellectual and emotional support, wholeheartedly believing in her literary prowess.

A portrait of the inter-war years, the letters exhibit the hallmarks of honest female friendship: not without friction and with its own delicateness.

Weight: 780g
Dimension: 236 x 164 x 42 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780349012292