The West End Front: The Wartime Secrets of London's Grand Hotels
Matthew Sweet
The West End Front: The Wartime Secrets of London's Grand Hotels
The Ritz, the Savoy, the Dorchester and Claridge's — during the Second World War they teemed with spies, con-artists, deposed royals and the exiled governments of Europe. Meet the girl from MI5 who had the gravy browning licked from her legs by Dylan Thomas; the barman who was appointed the keeper of Churchill's private bottle of whisky; the East End Communist who marched with his comrades into the air-raid shelter of the Savoy; the throneless prince born in a suite at Claridge's declared Yugoslav territory for one night only. Matthew Sweet has interviewed them all for this account of the extraordinary events that unfolded under the reinforced ceilings of London's grand hotels. Using the memories of first-hand witnesses, the contents of newly declassified government files and a wealth of previously unpublished letters, memoirs and photographs, he has reconstructed a lost world of scandal, intrigue and fortitude.
3.4 out of 5 based on 5 reviews
|
Omniscore:
|
| Classification |
Non-fiction |
| Genre |
History |
| Format |
Hardback |
| Pages |
384 |
| RRP |
£20.00 |
| Date of Publication |
November 2011 |
| ISBN |
978-0571234776 |
| Publisher |
Faber & Faber |
| |
The Ritz, the Savoy, the Dorchester and Claridge's — during the Second World War they teemed with spies, con-artists, deposed royals and the exiled governments of Europe. Meet the girl from MI5 who had the gravy browning licked from her legs by Dylan Thomas; the barman who was appointed the keeper of Churchill's private bottle of whisky; the East End Communist who marched with his comrades into the air-raid shelter of the Savoy; the throneless prince born in a suite at Claridge's declared Yugoslav territory for one night only. Matthew Sweet has interviewed them all for this account of the extraordinary events that unfolded under the reinforced ceilings of London's grand hotels. Using the memories of first-hand witnesses, the contents of newly declassified government files and a wealth of previously unpublished letters, memoirs and photographs, he has reconstructed a lost world of scandal, intrigue and fortitude.
Reviews
The Daily Express
Christopher Silvester
"Sweet is an entertaining guide to 20th-century British social history and he prefers the byways to the highways. Glamour and seediness jostle for our attention while Sweet combines nostalgic whimsy and gossipy flourishes with impressive sleuthing."
11/11/2011
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The Independent
Marianne Brace
"Entertainingly informative ... Packing in the anecdotes, Sweet dots his pages with colourful walk-ons ("Artful Charlie", "Baba Blackshirt") and tantalising vignettes (Dylan Thomas licking gravy from an MI5 girl's legs). His impressive list of interviewees feature Victor Legg, employed for 50 years at the Ritz, Joe Gilmore, Savoy barman who mixed cocktails for Sinatra and stashed whisky for Churchill, and Crown Prince Alexander, born to exiled parents in Claridge's Suite 212, transformed for the occasion into Yugoslav territory."
04/11/2011
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The Times
Iain Finlayson
"Taking his cue from the punning word “Ritzkreig”, Sweet turns a quizzical eye on the London socialites determined that their high life should continue undisturbed. The ambivalences and ambiguities of their conspicuous self-interest during a national emergency is exposed in gloriously gossipy stories of depressed, deposed monarchs, opportunistic peers, louche arrivistes, shadowy spies, anti-Semitic aristos, prostitutes and poets."
12/11/2011
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The Sunday Times
John Carey
"Perhaps sensing that much of his material is a bit drab, Sweet seeks to liven it up with lurid snippets. We hear of a colonel who encouraged his wife to sleep with a bullfighter, of a Venetian aristocrat who painted her servants gold, and used panthers, bears and boa constrictors as fashion accessories, of a couturier who wore a hat shaped like a lamb chop, and went skiing in a silver wig. Mostly, these items have nothing to do with London’s hotels, but are sprinkled across the text as garnish, like scraps of torn-up gossip column. As to whether he is pro or con luxury hotels, Sweet seems in two minds. But he says that working on the book saved him from falling too deeply for their “romance”, and with luck it will have the same healthy effect on readers."
30/10/2011
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The Financial Times
Carl Wilkinson
"Matthew Sweet’s engrossing history of London’s grand hotels during the second world war is eye-opening ... The West End Front is meticulously researched but, like a waiter at the Ritz, Sweet effortlessly serves up dish after dish of deliciously intriguing, scandalous and funny tales that give a rather different view of London life during the war."
04/11/2011
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