Drawing on letters written during WW2, this is the story of Tony and Zippa and their lives during the war. A young married couple separated by war, Tony is sent to N Africa whilst Zippa remains arlt home. This is a unique insight into what it was really like for hundreds of couple during WW2, and how they kept their relationship alive amidst bombs, war and separation. I really enjoyed Tony's vividly written descriptions of Algiers, Tunis and Cairo and his experiences fighting in the desert with Montys desert rats.
Zippas life on the home front is equally fascinating- her hopes for the future, coping with bombing and rationing while trying to maintain an upbeat attitude for Tony. These letters offer a real insight into the thoughts, hopes and dreams of these two young people in the midst of war.
This is a very readable book- vivid description, warm characters and a fascinating story.
A real gem of social history, this is a must-read for anyone interested in this historic period.

This is a story of war, love, hope, distance, and disenchantment.Tony Moore (b.1918) and Philippa "Zippa" (b.1914) met as air raid wardens in 1939.Tony was a Kings College, Cambridge graduate, and Zippa was an aspiring dancer.They married in 1941. Tom was deployed during WWII to North Africa, and like many wartime couples, they wrote and exchanged letters to one another.With their real emotions and troubles carefully protected from each other, letters were a thin thread . . . a sense of loss of touch was universal.
They were spouses but still strangers to one another.For WWII British soldiers and wives, long-distance communication was so unsatisfying that they often developed an emotional numbness towards their partner as a defense against the pain of separation.Others did still feel a strong love for their spouses, and throughout the separation were able to keep painfully alive an image of how they had been before the war. But these men and women often ended up heartbroken, never really getting back the people they remembered.It was not just time apart, but the transformative nature of that time for soldiers and women on their own that created an emotional and mental isolation between spouses.Even when veterans weren’t psychologically crippled by war, other changes like new intellectual or career interests could prevent spouses from connecting. A lot of people married for the wrong reasons, caught up in a whirlwind romance,but during war, time was a luxury few could afford. Tony was a romantic and an adventurer who wanted gaiety,travel, and beauty. He didn't want to be tied down for long. Zippa really felt happy and alive when she was with her siblings. She was more practical and family oriented.
Zippa and Tony had two daughters together, Rosalind, who was born during the war, and Julie, the author of this book,who was born postwar.Zippa and Tony, eventually split later on,but they still kept each other's letters.