While I was reading and listening to Connie Willis's time travel duo set in WWII London, I came across Margaret Gaskin's book about the worst day of the Blitz, December 29, 1940. In a technique reminiscent of Walter Lord's work on the Titanic (A Night to Remember), Gaskin focuses on a group of survivors of the bombardment. On that particular night, it seemed as if the Luftwaffe would succeed in utterly destroying the City of London. The bombers dropped countless bundles of incendiary bombs on the rooftops of the ancient City's buildings. Many of those venerable buildings had survived the Great Fire of London in 1666.
It's an amazing story of grit and true courage. What is so striking is that Londoners really did "take it" and carry on as best they could, sheltering in Tube stations, warehouses, church crypts. Sometimes they were burned out of one shelter and had to move to the next. Fleet Street was hit especially hard, with all the warehouses of paper so close. But above all the smoke and flames, the dome of St. Paul's rose in sooty splendor. That black and white photo became a symbol of Londoners' resolve and defiance under the most daunting attacks.
If you are interested in WWII or British history, Blitz is a stirring history of one of London's darkest nights.
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