{"title":"Doreen Bates","description":"\u003cp\u003eDelve into the heartwarming world of Doreen Bates. Her novels explore themes of community, resilience, and the quiet beauty of everyday life. Perfect for readers who enjoy Maeve Binchy or Catherine Cookson.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"diary-of-a-wartime-affair-book-doreen-bates-9780241250099","title":"Diary of a Wartime Affair","description":"'Unflinchingly honest...  this diary is exceptional' Elizabeth Buchan  'Tuesday 23 October, 1934  Another glorious sunny day. Lunch in Kens Gdns. E had not slept well \"as I longed and longed for you\". It made me happy that he wanted me. I suppose that is mean. He said, \"I could pick you out in the dark from fifty women . . .\" '   The diary of Doreen Bates is a candid, spellbinding portrait of a gutsy young woman working in London in the years before and during the Second World War, as well as an extraordinary account of her long affair with an older, married colleague - one that brazenly challenged the strict conventions of the day.  'Startlingly frank and readable' David Kynaston  'Absolutely engrossing'  Virginia Nicholson  'Astute, passionate, remarkably intimate, showing us the day-to-day picture of a long relationship'  Guardian","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49528326422801,"sku":"GOR008739276","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49535500157201,"sku":"GOR008775453","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50123879416081,"sku":"GOR008852552","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50346181263633,"sku":"CIN0241250099G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52109362856209,"sku":"GOR009227959","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0241250099.jpg?v=1751133029"},{"product_id":"diary-of-a-wartime-affair-book-doreen-bates-9780241250068","title":"Diary of a Wartime Affair","description":"The true story of a surprisingly modern romance in war-stricken London  London, 1934. Doreen Bates is working in the same office as E, an older married man. In the years just before the war, they develop an irresistible attraction to one another and strike up a passionate affair. Doreen records it all with startling candour in her diary - secret midnight walks, countryside escapades and stolen moments of intimacy.  But Doreen starts to long for a child with E. Despite all the taboos of the time, and against the wishes of E, she is determined to become a mother - even though she knows that her decision will provoke anger and shame from her family, friends and colleagues. Eventually she gets pregnant and is amazed when twins are born during the war. However, Doreen faces an uncertain future - will E ever leave his wife and join his new family?  This is the story of a young woman forging her own path in a period of turbulence and uncertainty.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49597174022417,"sku":"GOR008154271","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50920651653393,"sku":"GOR008310730","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52628378157329,"sku":"GOR014568788","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0241250064.jpg?v=1750940779"},{"product_id":"diary-of-a-wartime-unmarried-mother-book-doreen-bates-9781035840854","title":"Diary of a Wartime Unmarried Mother","description":"This diary gives a remarkably vivid description of the life of Doreen Bates, a professional young woman, who went against the social norms of her time to intentionally have twins fathered by an older married, but childless, colleague in the Inland Revenue, where they both worked as Income Tax Inspectors. At the time the twins were born Doreen did not know if their father could, or would, form part of the family. In the event, he was able to make frequent visits and helped practically, emotionally and financially with the childrens' upbringing. \u003cbr\u003eThe diary commences a few months after the twins were born. Doreen lived with them and a live-in nanny in South London where they experienced relentless days and nights of enemy bombing. In 1944 the twins and their nanny were evacuated to the incomparably safer and beautiful rural setting of a Wiltshire village where Doreen joined them for every weekend. \u003cbr\u003eIn contrast to the chaos and fear that accompanied the wartime conditions, Doreen's emotional life is much less turbulent than in the previous volume of her diary. This reflects the profound satisfaction she felt as a result of achieving her dream of having children. She was a remarkably enlightened parent. Her recording of their lives in this diary is detailed, intimate, and often humorous. Historical happenings are mentioned, but form only the incidental backdrop to her domestic and professional life. \u003cbr\u003eBrimming with soul, passion, candour and wit, the diaries of Doreen Bates are an extraordinary read, giving a vivid insight into the life of a woman unvanquished by her time, a woman who leaps from the page so strikingly that you feel your pulse beating in time with hers. Edited in an act of great love and generosity by her children, they should take their place as one of the essential diaries of the twentieth century for the window they offer into another world, another heart. \u003cbr\u003e- Lucy Caldwell","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51629684326673,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51629684556049,"sku":"NGR9781035840854","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52658590351633,"sku":"GOR014578489","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52745803301137,"sku":"NIN9781035840854","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1035840855.jpg?v=1751366344"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-doreen-bates.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}