From Churchill's War Rooms Letters of a Secretary 1943–45

The period from 1943 to 1945 saw some of the most important events of World War II, and few were fully aware of the decisions that were to affect the outcome of this global conflict. Yet, a young wartime secretary, Olive Christopherson, spent this remarkable time working in Churchill's famous Cabinet War Rooms. She became one of a tiny inner circle of people party to the political secrets of the crucial final years of the conflict. Working for long hours in an underground bunker opposite St. James' Park, Olive wrote a series of letters to her fiance filled with incredible details about the glamorous lifestyle and travel she enjoyed because of her job. Published for the first time, this illuminating and poignant correspondence offers a rare insight into the workings of the War Rooms and documents the rich experiences of a woman with exclusive access to the closed world of Churchill's inner circle.

Dr Joanna Moody taught for many years in the Department of English and Related Literature, University of York. She has edited several collections of letters and diaries and contributed to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. She is currently editing Ezra Pound's family diaries together with her husband and Pound's daughter. Dr Moody has also recently won Vice Chancellor's teaching award at the University of York. She lives in North Yorkshire.