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The year is 1934 and Albert, a singer, meets Dorothy, a pianist, because another pianist has broken his thumb. As children they had grown up during the First World War and had known the Depression, but they were young and life was full of music. They married in 1936 and their daughter, Barbara, was born in 1937. Life looked good but Albert was an Army reservist and was called up at the outbreak of the Second World War. His letters to Dorothy from France form the basis of this book. Fortunately, he survived Dunkirk and was posted to Stars in Battledress, entertaining the troops for the duration of the war.
The book shows the privations on the Home Front and the morale of the British people despite the dangers and hardships of war. Life was no easier after the war, but with the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and the New Look, colour came back into everyone's life. The Festival of Britain in 1951 was the icing on the cake. And with the National Health Service being created and new homes being built, the dark days were past and life could only get better.
About the author
The author, Barbara Kendall-Davies, is a professional opera singer, (who collaborated with her husband, baritone, Christopher Davies), costume designer, artistic director and principal soprano of the Apollo Group of London who also worked with numerous opera companies. In addition, she is a prolific painter, though she never dreamed of becoming a writer.
However, she has written seven books, including a novel Truth Will Find a Way published in 2019 by Austin Macauley. On with the Show is the sequel to the joint autobiography, Love and Music, of herself and her husband.
