Books by Peter Stansky

In Twenty Years On, Peter Stansky discusses aspects of modern Britain and its past. What has continually fascinated him is how Britain copes with change. Although as prone to violence and disruption as any other developed nation, it likes to think of itself as calm and peaceful, a country village. Yet beneath the surface, there is great turmoil, as so many British detective stories testify. Beginning with an account of becoming a historian, Stansky, drawing on his writings of the last twenty years, dwells on those areas of British life that he's made his own, particularly William Morris, the Bloomsbury Group, and George Orwell. In these essays, he skillfully interweaves culture, art, politics, and society. As a successor to his earlier collection, From William Morris to Sergeant Pepper (1998), Twenty Years On contains brilliant examinations of important aspects of modern Britain. Though Twenty Years On is Stansky's most recent work, it represents a lifetime of passion and expertise. Students, scholars, and enthusiasts will enjoy learning from one of the world's leading experts on British history and culture. Purchase your copy today.

The short, both tragic and happy life, of Julian Bell, poet, younger member of Bloomsbury, son of Vanessa Bell, nephew of Virginia Woolf, from his birth in 1908 until his death in 1937 in the Spanish Civil War.

On September 7, 1940, the long-feared and anticipated attack by the German Luftwaffe plunged London into a cauldron of fire and devastation. This compelling book recreates that day in all its horror, using rich archival sources and first-hand accounts, many never before published. Eminent historian Peter Stansky weaves together the stories of people who recorded their experiences of the opening hours of the Blitz. Then, exploring more deeply, the author examines what that critical day meant to the nation at the time, and what it came to mean in following years.Much of the future of Britain was determined in the first twelve hours of bombing, Stansky contends. The Blitz set in motion a range of responses that contributed to ultimate victory over Germany and to a transformation of British society. The wave of terror, though designed to quash morale, instead inspired stoicism, courage, and a new camaraderie. The tragic London bombing can reveal much of relevance to our own violent times, Stansky concludes: both the effectiveness of modern terror and its ultimate failure are made powerfully clear by the events of September 7, 1940.

Drawing upon his historical and literary talents, Peter Stansky captures the dazzling world of early Bloomsbury. The picture he presents, with all its drama and detail, encompasses the conflicts and sureties of a changing world of politics, aesthetics, and character.