Poetry and prose by women in the First World War, recorded for the first time for an audio book, will be performed at Chawton House Library to commemorate women’s unsung wartime experiences.
Actress Ruth Sillers will talk about and perform extracts from her own audio book compilation, War Girls, which includes writings of ordinary women alongside well-known poets and novelists.
The collection depicts women’s loss of husbands, sons and brothers, the dangers or working in munitions factories, experiencing life in the services and their first glimpse of greater freedom and opportunities.
The event is on Wednesday, 11 June, from 2.00pm at Chawton House Library, a leading study centre for early English women’s writing, and includes afternoon tea.
The audio book includes works by Katherine Mansfield, Sylvia Pankhurst, Edith Sitwell and Virginia Woolf, as well as a poignant poem by Nora Griffiths, The Wykhamist, about a dead soldier and former Winchester College pupil.
War Girls also features much-loved songs from the period, including Keep The Home Fires Burning, Till We Meet Again and Roses of Picardy.
Ruth Sillers said: “I tried to pick pieces not simply because they were written by famous authors but because they had something relevant and powerful to say. A lot of the writings are by unknown women: just ordinary women living in extraordinary times.”
She added: “I wanted to show the widest range of women’s experiences of the First World War and the social impact it had on their lives at the time, as well as the legacy it left behind.”
Keith Arscott, Development Director at Chawton House Library, said: “For an organisation which preserves and promotes women’s writing, we thought it fitting for Chawton House Library to remember the First World War with an event that recognises and celebrates women’s contribution to the war effort and their experiences.”
“The role that women played in the Great War has been largely overlooked and War Girls is a treasure trove of women’s writing from that period and a wonderful tribute that acknowledges women’s personal hardship and suffering, as well as the beginning of greater opportunities for them,” he added.
Chawton House Library aims to educate and inspire people of all ages to read the works of early English women writers from 1600 to 1830 and preserve the literary heritage for academics and non-scholars for generations to come.
The house itself is regularly open to visitors, alongside library readers, for tours and during public events. It also provides research facilities for Visiting Fellows from around the world, learning projects with local schools and colleges and fosters links internationally through seminars and conferences.
Tickets for the War Girls event cost £11, or £8.50 for students or friends of Chawton House Library and can be bought online or call 01420 541010. Copies of the audio book, which is published by Crimson Cats, will also be on sale on the day.