Two sisters: contrary lives

The book’s aim is to continue the project of recognizing the multiple and contradictory roles women played and the work women did during the Second World War. The essays expand our understanding of the impact women had on both the reality and perception of that war. The subjects' own perspectives offer a key insight into that changing world. Our co-authored book chapter seeks to represent the very different wartime experiences of my maternal grandmother and maternal great-aunt both in wartime and beyond. We explore these from a dual perspective: Charmian Brinson is a cultural historian with a specialism in female exile and internment. My analysis is grounded in an artistic enquiry coupled with a long interest in life narratives, historiography and memory.