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Testament of Youth (Penguin Classics) Paperback – May 31, 2005

by Vera Brittain (Author), Shirley Williams (Preface), Mark Bostridge (Introduction)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 2,483 ratings
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Giving a voice to a lost generation, this edition features a new introduction by Brittain’s biographer. Now a major motion picture starring Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Hayley Atwell, and Taron Egerton

Much of what we know and feel about the First World War we owe to Vera Brittain’s elegiac yet unsparing book, which set a standard for memoirists from Martha Gellhorn to Lillian Hellman. Abandoning her studies at Oxford in 1915 to enlist as a nurse in the armed services, Brittain served in London, in Malta, and on the Western Front. By war’s end she had lost virtually everyone she loved. Testament of Youth is both a record of what she lived through and an elegy for a vanished generation. Hailed by the Times Literary Suplement as a book that helped "both form and define the mood of its time," it speaks to any generation that has been irrevocably changed by war.

This edition features a new introduction by Brittain's biographer examining her struggles to write about her experiences and the book's reception in England and America.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    688 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Classics
  4. Publication date
    May 31, 2005
  5. Dimensions
    5.07 x 1.17 x 7.68 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0143039237
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0143039235
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“[Testament of Youth]remains one of the most powerful and widely read war memoirs of all time.” —The Guardian (London)

About the Author

Vera Brittain (1893–1970) served as a nurse in the British armed forces in World War I and afterward devoted herself to the causes of peace and feminism. She wrote twenty-nine books, of which Testament of Youth is the best-known.

Mark Bostridge is a biographer and literary critic who lives in London.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics; Reissue edition (May 31, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 688 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0143039237
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143039235
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.07 x 1.17 x 7.68 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 2,483 ratings

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  1. Vera Brittain

    Vera Brittain

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  2. Mark Bostridge

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Customer reviews

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Top reviews from the United States

Evelyn Cagle
5.0 out of 5 stars World war I
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2023
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The war seen through the eyes of an aristocratic English nurse. True story. Enthralling and heart breaking. It really touched my soul a book that needed to be written.
2 people found this helpful
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5.0 out of 5 stars Testament of Youth
Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2023
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Liked the superb command of English. Disliked, a little, the political attitude, (feminism) sprinkled in the larger story. Historical events seen from a different and perceptive viewpoint.
3 people found this helpful
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schmendrake
4.0 out of 5 stars Effortless, worthwhile dive into history
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2023
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Not light and breezy by any mark, but gripping and well worth the read. You'll know you're in good hands here.
One person found this helpful
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karin morgan
5.0 out of 5 stars The killing of an Archduke, and how it changed the world.
Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2016
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Vera Britten feel in love at the beginning of WW1.At the same time she was accepted to Oxford College [ Somerville] a very prestigious school.Hwe major was Literature.Her love of her life was Roland Leighton, a very smart and talented man,a friend of her brother's .He was 2 years her junior.As the war broke out in 1914 her brother's friends volunteered.She felt she was not doing enough for the men fighting,so she joined the VAD [Nurses Aid's].As the years went by first Roland died , then the others followed Edward her brother died the last in Italy in 1919..After this she became a Pacifist. she could not understand why young bots were being killed because of an Archduke in some far off country.Today many Historians would agree." THE CAUSE OF WAR ARE ALWAYS,FALSELY REPRESENTED : IT'S HONOR IS DISHONEST AND IT'S GLORY MERETRICIOUS ".She returned to Oxford ,majored in History, earned a BA ,,This was the second year they gave Degrees to Women.[1921]..She taught in schoolsL ,She wrote 'Testament of Youth ' .Worked for the League of Nations Union '.Then she meet George Catlin3 years her junior but they has a lot in common.They got married had 2 children, but she was hardly around.She half the year home , and half with Winigred a college friend.Which tore George apart, It was George , Vera and Winifred.Her daughter said she always had something more important to do.. One point is right she felt ' Nurses were only human beings" not a vocation, [ she was a VAD for 4 years.' And they should be more free of restrictions.".Her mother suffered from Depression, so she was put in a home, Vera saw it as a dull place with bad food, hoe can anyone recover in those conditions.She felt people suffering , should be in a happy place and be fed well.This I feel is being done now.It took Vera 10 years to fully recover from the war.Which she might have been shorter if she had gotten help.Vera became Catholic at the time of her marriage in 1925..Roland became Catholic in France before he died.Vera and Roland loved the ' St. James Spanish Catholic Church in Oxford. That is also the church she got married in with George..Roland Leighton had a big affect on her life , writing, religion. I do not feel her family was religious in a big way..Her daughter Shirley said " Roland was the love of her life" and this broke her fathers life.This is a very interesting book , war , women's movements, love,.Too much to cover in a review.
One person found this helpful
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linda cummings
3.0 out of 5 stars Book Review - Testament of Youth
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2016
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Overall I enjoyed Testament of Youth. I appreciated the author's sincerity and dedication and this personal view of WWI history. Ms Brittain's writing reveals her intelligence, intensity, and large vocabulary, and I was glad I read the book on Kindle so I could easily look up words new to me. Her writing style with long, convoluted sentences was tiresome and sometimes confusing but I realize in 1930's England this may have been standard. At the beginning of the book I grew weary of all the anger expressed by Ms Brittain. It is tragic her generation lost so much of their youth, but her anger at her conventional parents who had no books in their home seemed misplaced. I was surprised later in the book when Ms Brittain was overseas and she referred to letters with her Mother that there was such warmth. Ms Brittain expressed her ideas on so many things, it would have been interesting to know about the improvement in their relationship. The book is rich with the daily and personal experiences of people from all walks of life during WWI. At the end of the book Ms Brittain is ready to begin a new life chapter. Her edges are softening and she's beginning to give up some control. I was so glad for this resolution for her and it was a timely end. But, oh, it would have been wonderful to learn more of this next stage in her life.
26 people found this helpful
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R. J. Marsella
5.0 out of 5 stars world events intersect with personal destiny
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2001
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Never have I read a better account of current events interupting the normal rituals of young adulthood and changing the destiny of a group of individuals so dramatically. This book so captures the dreams and longings of people coming of age and finding themselves in terms of careers and loves and then having the rug pulled from under them that it could stand as a testimony for all generations shattered by war. In sometimes heartbreaking and often very poetic language the writer takes you along on a journey of discovery under horrific conditions and the reader is made to understand the remarkable transformations that these young people go through. The fact that the book was written by a young woman and is one of the few war memoirs that reflect a feminine sensibility and perspective serves to make this a unique book in the literature of either World War. Required reading for anyone interested in 20th century history.
52 people found this helpful
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Gargoyle
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice book.
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2023
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Excellent book about W.W I and it's effects on one woman and on England and it's young people of that generation. Well written and a true story that in some places is very sad.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Ana Cristina Peniche Ayora
5.0 out of 5 stars Testament of Youth. Libro.
Reviewed in Mexico on September 25, 2020
Verified Purchase
Muchas gracias. Llegó en excelentes condiciones.
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Ranjina
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read 📖
Reviewed in India on April 27, 2021
Verified Purchase
A deep book on relations and war. One of the best war memoirs for a lost generation. Vera Brittain at her best ❤❤
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Ranjina
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read 📖
Reviewed in India on April 27, 2021
A deep book on relations and war. One of the best war memoirs for a lost generation. Vera Brittain at her best ❤❤
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Ilaria
5.0 out of 5 stars Una scoperta 🤩
Reviewed in Italy on March 14, 2021
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"Oggi, ogni volta che penso alla guerra, non è in estate ma in inverno; la vedo sempre in termini di freddo, buio e scomodità, e poi immagino un intermittente calore di eccitazione che ci faceva esultare, in maniera
del tutto irragionevole, nel freddo, nel buio e nella scomodità. Il suo simbolo più adeguato, per me, è una candela fissata nel collo di una bottiglia, con la sua piccola fiamma che tremola in una corrente d'aria fredda come il ghiaccio e che tuttavia crea un'illusione in miniatura di luce, contro un'opaca e infinita oscurità."

La guerra è crudele e non guarda in faccia nessuno, non fa sconti ai giovani, non ha pietà dei loro sogni, desideri, ambizioni, sentimenti... e purtroppo la morte busserà impietosa e chiederà il conto a tanti giovani soldati (e alle loro famiglie, che avrebbero "solo" desiderato riaverli a casa sani e salvi), recidendo la loro vita bruscamente e ingiustamente.

Che ne è del loro eroismo, del loro slancio patriottico, della loro (sciagurata? ammirevole?) voglia di combattere per la propria nazione contro il Nemico?
Ma poi chi è questo nemico? Questa war autobiography racconta la vita e il punto di vista di Vera narrando non solo la storia della guerra ma anche intrecci amorosi e l’opposizione tra il desiderio di una giovane donna e quello che la sua famiglia si aspetta da lei
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mercedes rodriguez caballero
1.0 out of 5 stars No pude leerlo
Reviewed in Spain on September 9, 2020
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No se. Me vino la versión en inglés
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Ondine
5.0 out of 5 stars Sehr zu empfehlen
Reviewed in Germany on July 10, 2019
Verified Purchase
Ein wunderbarer rührender Film!
One person found this helpful
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