With Love

The intimate record of two girls’ lives in an extraordinary decade.

 

“I like to hear things of no importance so that I don't feel cut off from you all” - Gloria Geeve, 1950

 

Gloria and Laura Geeve were bold, unconventional young women in the 1950s.  Despite a shortage of money, they gained degrees and worked hard to climb career ladders in order to support the family.

 

They loved to travel and explore new cultures; and they delighted in sharing these experiences with each other. Gloria braved teaching in Egypt (among other places), where the excitement of working in exotic climes gave way to the alarm of house arrest when the Suez Crisis erupted.  Laura spent six months in America – a land of plenty compared with the constant scrimping at home.

 

Their correspondence offers a poignant account of the close relationship between two sisters and their attempts to embrace opportunities at a time when young women were not always encouraged to seize the day.


'This captivating collection of intimate, funny and loving letters between two sisters is a time-traveller's dream. Whisking us back into the 1950s, the words the sisters write to each other elegantly communicate their brave new ambitions, their dress budgets and dramas at home and on the world-stage. Shaking off the austerity of post-war penny-pinching to enjoy the twin adventures of education and travel, Gloria and Laura reveal their lively, pioneering spirits. The once dusty letters are full of lives excitingly lived.'



Kerry Fowler, Books Editor, Sainsbury’s magazine