Must Read Autobiographies - XXVIII

Testament of Youth

Vera Brittain

Testament of Youth, is the memoir of Vera Brittain's (1893 - 1970) life covering the period 1900 to 1925. This was published in 1933. She continued with her memoirs with Testament of Experience, covering the period 1925 - 1950 published in 1957. Between these two books comes Testament of Friendship, which was published in 1940

Testament of Youth has been acclaimed as a classic for its description of the impact of World War I on the lives of women and the middle-class civilian population of Great Britain. The book shows how the impact extended into the postwar years. It is also considered a classic in feminist literature for its depiction of a woman's pioneer struggle to forge an independent career in a society only grudgingly tolerant of educated women.

The narrative begins with Vera's plans to enter the Oxford University and her romance with Roland Leighton, a friend of her brother Edward. Both were commissioned as officers early in World War I, and both were subsequently killed, as were several other members of their social circle.

The book's main subject is Vera's work as a Voluntary Aid detachment Work nurse, nursing wounded in London, Malta and at Etaples in France. It also describes how she returned, disillusioned, to Somerville College, Oxford after the war and completed her BA degree. It covers the beginning of her career in journalism, and lecturing for the League of Nations. She visits the graves of her brother Edward in Italy and her fiancé Roland in France. She toured the defeated and occupied regions of Germany and Austria in 1923.

It concludes with her meeting her husband George Catlin and their eventual marriage in 1925.

Namaste

Prabir