I SAW TWO ENGLANDS

Two Journeys in England in the spring and autumn of 1939, the first unharried and unharried, though with overtones of approaching war, through Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Northamptonshire; the second, trying to beat the blackout, with set timing and official permissions, to war centers. So the contrast is between England of history, with castles, estates, family stories, literature, legend -- and the England of munition factories, R.A.F. training school, German prisoners, women farm workers, air raids, etc. There's Thomas A Becket, Sir Philip Sidney, Shakespeare, Mary Queen of Scots, Amy Robert, King Henry and his wives, among other in the first tour -- and wardens, fishermen, war workers, censors, the military in the second. A practised hand in observation and narration points up the changes, contrasts, comparisons in his best manner.