A Place of Dreams

<p class=ql-align-justify><span>This book is a compelling blend of mystery history and creative non-fiction that brings to life the wartime story of Norah Hodgkinson (1925-2009) a working-class schoolgirl later clerical worker and a prolific diarist. The book opens with a sailor's letter of thanks for a pair of socks that Norah had knitted for the Royal Navy Comforts Fund in 1940―a gift that led to an exciting romance with the sailor's dashing airman brother. But as the author pieces together Norah's diary entries and the sailor's letters questions emerge about the men's identities and intentions. 'A Place of Dreams' uncovers a dark tale of male rivalry and wartime anonymity and a young woman's appetite for life and love amidst unexpected dangers. </span></p><p class=ql-align-justify><span>Blending microhistory with family history and life-writing the author navigates the challenges of Norah's tweet-like diary entries. Inviting the reader into Norah's world she explores ways of uncovering the lives of ordinary women so often absent from official archives. </span></p><p class=ql-align-justify></p><p class=ql-align-justify><span>A Place of Dreams is a timely story in the era of #MeToo juxtaposing Norah's wartime experiences with contemporary feminist writing to pose questions―about sex desire modesty and shame-that Norah could not voice in 1940s England. By reflecting on the relevance of history today the story explores whether narratives like Norah's can spark broader conversations about intimate justice and its connection to politics and cultural change. On a personal level it delves into what Norah's wartime experience means to the author as a historian feminist Norah's great-niece and a mother of girls.</span></p><p class=ql-align-justify></p><p class=ql-align-justify><span>This volume will appeal to readers with an interest in women's lives in the past and academics and students in the fields of women's and gender history the history of sexuality the social and cultural history of war/WW2 studies diary studies and the relationships of history fiction and life-writing.</span></p><p></p>