Vera Mary Brittain, Testament of Youth

Lolly Ockerstrom (Park University)

Ed. by Cristina Sandru, The Literary Encyclopedia
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Birmingham Newman University), Louise McDonald (Birmingham Newman University), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1933

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Autobiography (literary)

Resources

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First published in 1933, fifteen years after the end of World War I, Vera Brittain’s

Testament of Youth

became an instant success and helped to define autobiography in the 20th Century; in 1979 the BBC produced a film based on the story, which was aired in the UK, and on PBS

Masterpiece Theater

in the U.S. The book remains the only major account of World War I written by a woman. After numerous attempts to write her story through poetry and fiction, Brittain finally realized that the best way to represent her experience was through life writing. She wrote in the Foreword to

Testament of Youth

: “Only, I felt, by some such attempt to write history in terms of personal life could I rescue something that might be of value, some element of truth and hope and usefulness, from the smashing…

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1452 words

Citation: Ockerstrom, Lolly. "Testament of Youth". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 June 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13579, accessed 22 November 2024.]

Vera Mary Brittain, Testament of Youth

Dates

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Genres and Modes

Resources

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