'Hope and Glory' by Stuart Maconie

It's taken me longer than normal to read this, but I've got there in the end. Part of the reason for the lengthy read is that I didn't actually want to stop reading it at all.

Maconie's writing style is deeply engaging and every chapter contains far more than just 'information' about one particular date, despite that being the premise of the book. I learned more about events I've either heard about or lived through than I expected.

Several of the days coincided with relevant anniversaries as I read. Yesterday was 50 years since THAT football match. There was much discussion in the first chapter about votes for women, which I was reading when the nation decided to go for Brexit. At least I had my cross on a bit of paper, even if was - once more - ignored. I was reading the chapter about the opening day of the Somme on the centenary of 1 July 1916 and it was a poignant reminder of the tragic loss of life in that whole war and that day in particular. It's a day we should never forget.

This is just one of the tomes Maconie has crafted so the only decision now is which one next.

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Hilary Seabrook - writer, podcaster, musician

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