As I may have mentioned before, I am more willing to take chances on unknown books when it’s cheap. So like with Perfect Wives in Ideal Homes, I bought Jambusters based on its cover (and also its synopsis, which is one more piece of information compared to the former). And the similarities do not stop there.

Perfect Wives in Ideal Homes, Jambusters is a book about the history of women in England during a particular time and which also draws on their own words to tell the story. In Jambusters, the time is the 1940s, or to be exact, World War II. The women in question are not only British, but are also members of the Women’s Institute (WI) because Jambusters seeks to tell the story of the WI and how they helped Britain through the war.

As someone who has no experience with the WI or any prior knowledge of it (apart from the fact that it exists), I appreciated that the book started with a brief introduction of how the WI came to be started in Britain. From there, Summers looks at the different ways the WI was called to help – from rationing to billeting the evacuees to making jam and clothes needed by the government.

Some of these efforts may sound trivial, but they really weren’t. Jam making, for instance, helped to turn fruit that may have gone bad into food that could be used to add flavour and enhance meals affected by rationing. Not to mention that it could be dangerous – the sulphur method of canning involved setting sulphur on fire and keeping a pot of jam boiling at all times! It does not sound safe (for me) at all.

I really appreciated how Summers drew heavily on accounts from members of the WI to write this book; their voices truly shine through the pages and I have so much respect for these women after reading this! In this sense, it’s similar to Perfect Wives in Ideal Homes because Summers puts the women front and centre. But given that I read Jambusters so soon after Perfect Wives in Ideal Homes, I do wonder if we aren’t hearing the whole story. Things sound very cheery and after hearing how bad things were in the 1950s, I wonder if the contrast really could have been this stark? I mean, these women were making superhuman efforts to keep the country going by providing basic necessities, I’m amazed that they all seemed to see things positively.

Overall, though, this is a heartfelt account of a subject that I never considered before. Summers clearly has a lot of love for the WI and its members and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them and their efforts in WWII, even if I’ll probably never have the chance to go to a WI event!