Robert Graves is primarily known for his memoir Goodbye to All That, I Claudius and Claudius the God. This work which was co-authored with Alan Hodge is exactly what its sub-title claims, a social history of Great Britain between the two World Wars. It does not ignore political history by any means, but the main focus is on the changing manners and mores of the British people in the Twenties and Thirties. It would be a daunting task to recapitulate all of the topics discussed in this work, each of which is described in minute detail. Graves and Hodge use as source material and comment on the British news media, newspapers and wireless programming. Of course, wireless means the fledgling BBC. The newspaper articles, editorial positions, advertising and features are drawn mostly from the middlebrow and lowbrow press. Not much attention is paid to the Times or the Telegraph except to cite them as the newspapers of the "thoughtful" part of the populace or to dismiss them as being in editorial lockstep with government policy. (Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.)

Graves and Hodge play considerable attention to the evolution of Britain's entertainment industries and highlight the major influence of American trends in popular culture as manifested in cinema, music and literature. Fashion was still largely the province of developments across the Channel in Paris. They note what they refer to as a twelve-year lag between a new trend in Paris and its catching on in England.

Politically, the national government headed by Ramsey MacDonald gave way to one headed by Stanley Baldwin that ushered in a Conservative Party era that culminated in Neville Chamberlain's prime ministership and his fruitless effort to preserve the peace in Europe via a policy of appeasement toward the dictators. The authors cover the failed General Strike of 1926, the Italian invasion of Abyssinia, the Spanish Civil War, the Munich agreement and they end the book with the entry of Britain into war with Germany in the first week of September 1939.

One theme that resonates throughout the book is the near universal inclination to pacifism in the British people. They were deeply scarred by the experience of trench war from 1914-1918 and agreed with Chamberlain that there was no compelling reason to resort to war due to "...quarrels in far-away countries between people of whom we know nothing."

There is a lot more to this history on the lighter side of life and if you are inclined to the study of social history or to the story of Great Britain "between the wars" there is a lot in this work to recommend itself to you. ( )

It is so fun reading a book about 1918-1939 that was published in 1940. I got a first-hand look at how Graves and Hodge viewed the time they were living in. They tried hard to be unbiased, but it certainly came through at times and that is what I enjoyed the most. There were definitely parts I needed to skim because it was so much local politics, but other than that, this is a great history book. ( )

A description of the Social history of Great Britain on the verge of WWII. For those who didn't experience the pre-War priod in GB, this is a good introductory book. The prose is clear. ( )

For anyone interested in the era this book is essential

"The Long Week End: A Social History of Great Britain, 1918-1939" was written by novelist Robert Graves (author of the excellent First World War memoir "Goodbye to All That"), and Alan Hodge.

I am fascinated by the first fifty years of the twentieth century and read a lot of fiction and non-fiction from this era. My focus tends to be on Europe, and in particular the UK, and so I was particularly interested in reading this "social history of Great Britain" during the peace that endured between World War One and World War Two.

The book was first published in 1940 and so is written without the knowledge of the outcome of World War Two.

That this book contains an alternate, idiosyncratic and personal history of Britain between World War One and World War Two, becomes very apparent when the reader arrives at the chapter headings. Here's a list of the 26 chapters contained within this book:

Armistice, 1918
Revolution Averted, 1919
Women
Reading Matter
Post-War Politics
Various Conquests
Sex
Amusements
Screen and Stage
Revolution Again Averted, 1926
Domestic Life
Are, Literature, and Religion
Education and Ethics
Sport and Controversy
The Depression, 1930
Pacifism, Nudism, Hiking
The Days Of The Loch Ness Monster
Recovery, 1935
The Days of Non-Intervention
'The Deepening Twilight of Barbarism'
Three Kings in One Year
Keeping Fit, and Doing The Lambeth Walk
Social Consciences
'Markets Close Firmer'
Still At Peace
Rain Stops Play, 1939

Furthermore, the topics covered within these chapters tend to meander about, and the authors touch on all manner of disparate elements of life in Britain during this era. This means the book is chock full of fascinating trivia and ephemera, however it also means the book can feel unstructured, kaleidoscopic, and - on occasion - somewhat overwhelming.

I suspect a book written now, about this era, might deem a lot of the information in this book superficial, insignificant or irrelevant. Every page contains a curious insight, or remarkable fact, or piece of period detail, that really illuminates the period. Based on my knowledge (which is far from comprehensive), this book appears to really capture the spirit of the years between 1918 and 1939.

Reading the book brought up parallels to modern times, showing that the more things change the more they stay the same. Moralists attacked the immorality of the times, popular music, books and movies were blamed for the lowering of the standards of decency and culture, the older generation decried the lax mores of the young, the high brows decried the intrusion of American low-brow culture. Sound familiar?

I found the extensive quotes from newspapers illuminating, particularly leading up to the declaration of war.

For anyone interested in the era this book is essential: providing a fascinating alternate history of Britain between the wars, and one that focuses as much on the general public, the mood of the nation, the fashion and trends, as the bigger picture. ( )

An enjoyable social history of the 1918 to 1939 period in England (no real mention of Scotland, Wales and Ireland) first published in 1940 and so very contemporary. As you would expect, much stronger on the fads, crazes, new dances and the development of radio and film than the politics of the period. Also enlightening on the coercion of the press to right wing tendencies, leading to self censorship.
Interesting for having Robert Graves quote from his diary on meetings with public figures such as T E Lawrence and Winston Churchill.
The analysis of literature seems rather poor with the benefit of hindsight, especially with the references to Robert Graves' partner, Laura Riding. ( )