Road Ahead - Softcover

Christabel Bielenberg

Softcover

ISBN 10: 055216366X ISBN 13: 9780552163668

Publisher: Corgi Books, 2010

Synopsis

Following the extraordinary success of her wartime memoirs, The Past Is Myself, Christabel Bielenberg received thousands of letters from readers begging her to describe what happened next. The Road Ahead takes up the story at the moment the first volume left off - with the outbreak of peace.Germany was devastated by war and its aftermath, while Britain seemed grey and exhausted to Christabel. She was soon appointed the Observer's special correspondent in Germany, and, reunited with her husband, Peter (technically an enemy alien), she joined the struggle for reconciliation with, and the rebuilding of, a defeated nation. It was Peter's near-fatal accident and her own illness which decided the young couple to turn their backs on England and Germany and make a new start farming in Ireland.Life was harsh at first, but predictably Christabel found humour in the accidents of poverty and the many mishaps of country life. The beautiful scenery of the Wicklow Mountains provided a haven for the family and for the hosts of young people from all over the world who joined them each summer. Christabel became involved with the Peace Women of Northern Ireland and learned as much as she could about the adopted country she had grown to love so passionately. Taking her seventieth birthday as a stopping point for a life that even now, some fourteen further years on, is as rich and full as it ever was, she looks back with characteristic modesty and gratitude. Her readers will be enchanted by this second volume of memoirs, as clear-sighted and generous, as honest, funny, touching and brave as The Past Is Myself.

About this title

About the Author:

Christabel Bielenberg, a niece of Lord Northcliffe, married a German lawyer in 1934. She lived through the war as a German citizen and wrote about her experiences in her memoir, The Past is Myself, and in its sequel, The Road Ahead. The Past is Myself was adapted for television by Dennis Potter under the title Christabel. In 1988, the Federal Republic of Germany awarded her the Commander's cross of the Order of Merit for her contribution to German-English understanding. She and her husband, Peter, have three sons and live in Ireland.

From Library Journal:

In this follow-up to The Past Is Myself (Audio Reviews, LJ 5/1/94), the British-born Bielenberg tells of being reunited with her German husband in occupied Germany just after World War II. Together, they struggle to survive, surrounded by conquering armies and short rations. They make their way back to England, where they attempt to rebuild their lives. Eventually, they choose to follow an old dream: to farm on the western coast of Ireland. There, they set up household and learn how to farm through trial and error. While this story initially promises to be very interesting, it quickly becomes apparent that The Road Ahead suffers from overly formal language and a lack of local color. Reader Sheila Mitchell narrates well, but she cannot instill warmth in the dispassionate text. Only the largest collections need consider.
Susan B. Lamphier, Somerville P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Corgi Books
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 055216366X
• ISBN 13: 9780552163668
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224