As the euphoria of Armistice Day in 1918 subsided, there was no denying the carnage that the Great War had left in its wake. Grief-stricken, the British people moved forward, with women winning the vote, and young people forgetting their troubles at packed dance halls. Two years later, the remains of a nameless combatant were laid to rest in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Westminster Abbey, and citizens paused in silent reverence. Juliet Nicolson's history of two transformative years in the life of a nation features a wide range of characters, from an aging butler to a pair of newlyweds, and from the Prince of Wales to Lawrence of Arabia.