Mod post: theme suggestions

[damned_colonial]

Please suggest themes you'd like to see covered here! Cut and paste the following into a comment:

ETA: please put your theme in the subject of your comment!

Theme:
Are you prepared to run it? Yes/No
Suggested books, if you have them already:


What does it mean to run the theme?

1. At least one month in advance, you'll let everyone know about the theme and your suggested reading for it. You need to suggest at least 3 works of fiction.
2. On the first of the month, you will post a welcome/introduction/kickoff for the theme.
3. Throughout the month, you'll take an active part in discussion of the theme.

You do not have to be an expert on the theme to run it. You just need to have an interest in it.

Comments

Re: Women At War, WWI

[naraht]

I'd like to look at stuff other than the basic "trench warfare" narratives, in particular; I can think of lots of home-front stuff from WWII, but not so much WWI, so suggestions would be really helpful.

Do you know, I can't think of anything either, apart from Vera Brittain.

Good secondary sources can be found in the "war" section of Oxford's twentieth century social history paper...

http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/currentunder/bibliographies/fhs_fs_22_britsoc20C_october_2007.pdf

Can I put in a plug for "The Great War and Modern Memory" by Paul Fussell even though it isn't strictly speaking about the home front?

Re: Women At War, WWI

[damned_colonial]

Ooh, "A Very Long Engagement" -- the film was based on a novel by Sebastien Japrisot, written in the 90s.

http://ask.metafilter.com/97129/Stories-about-WWIWWII-home-fronts has a whole list though I didn't find anything that really jumped out at me there.

Re: Women At War, WWI

[damned_colonial]

OK, if we add in Jackie French's YA "A Rose for the ANZAC Boys" (see comment below under WW1 in general) this theme now has 3 novels and one autobiography that are clearly about women in ww1, so I'll add it to the list.

OH! And there's a Phryne Fisher novel that's all about her backstory as an ambulance driver in WW1 and in Paris afterwards. Wonder what other ambulance driver/nurse/etc novels there are?