Elaine Showalter

The letters between Vera Brittain, author of Testament of Youth, and Winifred Holtby, author of South Riding, tell the story of an extraordinary friendship 'Touching and inspiring' RACHEL COOKE, Observer'Lively, perceptive' MIRANDA SEYMOUR, Literary Review'A beautiful collection' DAISY DUNN, Sunday Times'A moving unvarnished chronicle' Sarah Watling, TelegraphFrom the time when they met at Somerville College, Oxford, until Winifred's early death at the age of thirty-seven, they wrote constantly, encouraging and advising each other, even through periods as literary rivals as they negotiated envy and self-doubt.
Vera decisively influenced Winifred's passion for feminism and peace and Winifred gave Vera crucial support, fiercely believing in her literary gifts. Their letters, written from 1920 to 1935, kept them 'continuously together'.