The life of Winifred- By: Lynette Baines, 01 Nov 2000 This is the second of Vera Brittain's testaments, & it is the story of a woman with a great capacity for friendship & a desire for social justice. Winifred Holtby was bornin Yorkshire, joined the WAAC during WW1, completed her university education at Oxford (where she met Vera) after the war, & worked as a journalist & novellistin London until her early deathin 1935. Winiferd & Vera lived togetherin London during the 1920's & after Vera's marriage, she shared a house with Vera & her family. Winifred, as a single woman, wasin great demand by her family whenever there was a crisis, ( by Vera as well). This is one of the aspects of a single woman's life that comes through very strongly. Although Winifred had work of her own, she was expected to drop everything whenever she was needed elsewhere. Because this book was written by a close friend, it doesn't have the objectiveness of the recent biography of Winifred by Marion Shaw. However, this is outweighed by the personal knowledge the author brings to her subject, & the love with which it is written.
