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Frances Donaldson: A Woman's War: Letters to a Soldier in the Second World War
What makes a 1930s society girl become a farmer? Answer the Second World War.
This is the story of my mother, Frances Donaldson, a privileged young woman giving her all in wartime. With her soldier husband, Jack, far away and 2 young children to care for, she bought a farm in Warwickshire and determined to live off it. Could an emotionally fragile young mother survive the ordeal?
During 6 long years of war she learned to farm, battling with the antagonism of the men she was trying to manage, vulnerable to the demands of the Ministry of Agriculture while coping with small children and no money. War was a test of relationships, character and endurance.
A Woman's War tells how she conquered WWII. An emotional tale from riches to rags, from joy to sorrow, and, at the end of the war together again with Jack, rejoicing. The journey is illustrated with letters and contemporary photographs. Read it and share her trials today.
Frances Donaldson would not have called herself a feminist, but her strong character, independence and determination make this almost a feminist tract, showing in detail how much a woman can achieve in difficult circumstances. She not only showed determination but took on physical tasks which most modern men would find difficult if not impossible.
She overcame the opposition of the members of the man's world in which she found herself and rose to top the ranks of farmers in the war, to be invited to broadcast to Britain and America and to write 2 books about it - working at night after a full day's hard activity on the farm. Her letters to her husband Jack are sometimes tearful, often sad but in the end the letters of a fighter, a perfectionist and an achiever.
Robert Boyd
"Female farming in "The War". A laughing, crying, gripping, writer-to-be's letters to her husband through five long years of separation. She, a famous playwright's daughter from high society turned farmer, responds with candour and can-do to male dominance in the cowshed and the realities of the woman's land army volunteers. A moving must-read of feminism two generations before its time coupled with the real smell of Britain before and after Dunkirk. The fear and the relief." Robert Boyd
This is the story of my mother, Frances Donaldson, a privileged young woman giving her all in wartime. With her soldier husband, Jack, far away and 2 young children to care for, she bought a farm in Warwickshire and determined to live off it. Could an emotionally fragile young mother survive the ordeal?
During 6 long years of war she learned to farm, battling with the antagonism of the men she was trying to manage, vulnerable to the demands of the Ministry of Agriculture while coping with small children and no money. War was a test of relationships, character and endurance.
A Woman's War tells how she conquered WWII. An emotional tale from riches to rags, from joy to sorrow, and, at the end of the war together again with Jack, rejoicing. The journey is illustrated with letters and contemporary photographs. Read it and share her trials today.
Frances Donaldson would not have called herself a feminist, but her strong character, independence and determination make this almost a feminist tract, showing in detail how much a woman can achieve in difficult circumstances. She not only showed determination but took on physical tasks which most modern men would find difficult if not impossible.
She overcame the opposition of the members of the man's world in which she found herself and rose to top the ranks of farmers in the war, to be invited to broadcast to Britain and America and to write 2 books about it - working at night after a full day's hard activity on the farm. Her letters to her husband Jack are sometimes tearful, often sad but in the end the letters of a fighter, a perfectionist and an achiever.
Robert Boyd
"Female farming in "The War". A laughing, crying, gripping, writer-to-be's letters to her husband through five long years of separation. She, a famous playwright's daughter from high society turned farmer, responds with candour and can-do to male dominance in the cowshed and the realities of the woman's land army volunteers. A moving must-read of feminism two generations before its time coupled with the real smell of Britain before and after Dunkirk. The fear and the relief." Robert Boyd
- GenresNonfictionHistory
348 pages, Paperback
Published September 4, 2017
15 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Rose Deakin
1 book1 followerLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 15, 2019
Frances Donaldson: A Woman's War: Letters to a Soldier in the Second World War
: Rose Deakin
A look inside the lives of a family separated by WWII. The story is told through the exchange of letters. A wife and mother buys and runs a farm so the family will have a home and business after the war. She also becomes an author about farming.
It's a different look at war and those on the home front.
The narration was well done. The characters were well portrayed. Lillian Rachel adds to the feel of the story.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
: Rose Deakin
A look inside the lives of a family separated by WWII. The story is told through the exchange of letters. A wife and mother buys and runs a farm so the family will have a home and business after the war. She also becomes an author about farming.
It's a different look at war and those on the home front.
The narration was well done. The characters were well portrayed. Lillian Rachel adds to the feel of the story.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
May 6, 2018
Wonderful homage to a mother. Enjoyed reading the agricultural innovation taking place during this time of upheaval. For me it was a page turned and set me out searching for more titles ! I can think of no higher compliment.
I would suggest this book with enthusiasm to students of history, rural life and women studies. I wonder what happened to Ross's brother, Thomas?
I would suggest this book with enthusiasm to students of history, rural life and women studies. I wonder what happened to Ross's brother, Thomas?
November 7, 2019
Impressive epistolary account of farming on the Home Front as a woman with a husband away at war - the frustrations of a woman in a man's world, the challenges of weather, labor, sickness in animals, etc., in addition to having to go it alone with two young children and no spouse to pitch in and consult on decisions. Donaldson wasn't a farmer before the war and had to learn as she went, not easy when her managers were unwilling to teach her. But she prevailed, and wrote successful books on farming during these five years - a remarkable individual.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews