The Twilight Years

The Twilight Years

The Paradox of Britain Between the Wars

About the Book

"Thought-provoking and illuminating...Overy's study of British culture between the wars is absorbing and unexpectedly moving."
-The New York Times Book Review


Original, entertaining, and ever-surprising, The Twilight Years tells the story of how an abiding fear of war influenced English life in the aftermath of World War I. Britain had become a laboratory for modern thought and experimentations, from eugenics to Freud's unconscious. And drawing upon these innovative ideas and concepts, intellectuals, politicians, scientists, and artists-among them Arnold Toynbee, Aldous Huxley, and H.G. Wells-grappled with a creeping fear that the West was staring down the end of civilization. The Twilight Years speaks to the frightening power of ideas in a rapidly changing world.
Read more
Close

Praise for The Twilight Years

"Thought-provoking and illuminating...Overy's study of British culture between the wars is absorbing and unexpectedly moving."  -The New York Times Book Review
Read more
Close

About the Author

Richard Overy
RICHARD OVERY has written and edited more than thirty books, including Why the Allies WonRussia’s WarThe Twilight Years, 1939, and The Bombers and the Bombed. He is a professor of history at the University of Exeter, U.K. More by Richard Overy
Decorative Carat

By clicking submit, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and understand that Penguin Random House collects certain categories of personal information for the purposes listed in that policy, discloses, sells, or shares certain personal information and retains personal information in accordance with the policy. You can opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information anytime.

Random House Publishing Group