The Oaken Heart

In 1940, Allingham, best known as a mystery author, undertook a request from her American publishers to write about her own experiences in wartime Britain. Here she chronicles the preparations and attitudes of the townspeople of Auburn in 1938 as they begin to sense war on the horizon, following them through the spring of 1941. Allingham’s writing style is elliptical, dwelling in great detail on her opinions of various political leaders and decades-old traditions of the town while glossing quickly over topics too personal for public consumption. However, she capably demonstrates the English reluctance to return to conflict after the horrors of the Great War, as well as their steadfast determination to win once war became inevitable. Georgina Sutton offers a narration that is unadorned and comfortable, inviting the listener to join her in Allingham’s memories as though taking a stroll with a treasured friend. Sutton particularly excels at the subtle variations of the local accent heard up and down the class structure.