It Is Bliss Here: Letters Home 1939-45

New
Paperback
2006
$9.90

Myles Hildyard served as an officer during World War II. He saw action in Palestine, Crete - where he was captured and embarked on a dramatic escape - North Africa, Italy, the D-Day landings and finally Berlin in 1945. During this time, Myles wrote extensively, mainly in letters home. For Myles, the war was not just the worst of times but also the best: he saw some of the great sights; he was tanned and healthy; and he made friendships that were to last a lifetime. Myles's letters convey what it was like to be in the heat of battle, in occupied castles, in wartime London society, and in the ruins of Berlin. They also show a young man coming to terms with his sexuality in a clear-sighted, brave and intelligent way. Witty and profound, they are letters full of longing: for home, for news, to find God, and to find out what the war is all for.

Synopsis

Myles Hildyard served as an officer during World War II. He saw action in Palestine, Crete - where he was captured and embarked on a dramatic escape - North Africa, Italy, the D-Day landings and finally Berlin in 1945. During this time, Myles wrote extensively, mainly in letters home. For Myles, the war was not just the worst of times but also the best: he saw some of the great sights; he was tanned and healthy; and he made friendships that were to last a lifetime. Myles's letters convey what it was like to be in the heat of battle, in occupied castles, in wartime London society, and in the ruins of Berlin. They also show a young man coming to terms with his sexuality in a clear-sighted, brave and intelligent way. Witty and profound, they are letters full of longing: for home, for news, to find God, and to find out what the war is all for.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
Edition: New edition
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published: 07 Aug 2006
ISBN 10: 0747581207
ISBN 13: 9780747581208
Book Overview: After serving in World War II, Myles Hildyard returned to his family home Flintham Hall near Newark, Nottinghamshire, where he has lived ever since.

Media Reviews

'It is Myles Hildyard's honesty and perspicacity which makes him such a prodigiously interesting person and this collection of letters such a pleasure to read' Antony Beevor 'It is truly a gem ... a brilliant book, with its galaxy of names, buildings, battles and sights' Spectator 'A wonderful book; a blend of Baedeker and Beevor, with fascinating close-ups of battles ... How wonderful that his parents did not use his journal to wrap apples , as he ribbed them they might, but preserved these writings in a chest in the attic' Country Life 'His greatest literary achievement ... Archbishop William Temple, a relation with whom he also corresponded regularly during the war, wrote that he considered Hildyard the best letter-writer he had ever known' Independent

Author Bio

After serving in World War II, Myles Hildyard returned to his family home Flintham Hall near Newark, Nottinghamshire, where he lived until his death in August 2005.