A riveting glimpse of life and love during and after World War II—a heart-warming, touching, and thoroughly absorbing true story of a world gone by.In the spring of 1939, with the Second World War looming, two determined twenty-four-year-olds, Heather Jenner and Mary Oliver, decided to open a marriage bureau. They found a tiny office on London’s Bond Street and set about the delicate business of … about the delicate business of matchmaking. Drawing on the bureau’s extensive archives, Penrose Halson—who many years later found herself the proprietor of the bureau—tells their story, and those of their clients.
From shop girls to debutantes; widowers to war veterans, clients came in search of security, social acceptance, or simply love. And thanks to the meticulous organization and astute intuition of the Bureau’s matchmakers, most found what they were looking for.
Penrose Halson draws from newspaper and magazine articles, advertisements, and interviews with the proprietors themselves to bring the romance and heartbreak of matchmaking during wartime to vivid, often hilarious, life in this unforgettable story of a most unusual business.
“A book full of charm and hilarity.”—Country Life
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A great beach read book. A true storoy of how two matchmakers arranged love in wartime London
Online dating circa the 1940s. An easy read.
Lots of interesting characters!
This sounds so much more personal than dating apps today. Imagine a real person picking out people she thinks you would get along with. And you only have to pay if you get results. Crazy.
I didn’t realize there was any such service nearly 100 years ago.
I was disappointed that one key person moved to another country and was apparently never heard from again. I can’t imagine that happening today, but who knows, I guess. I kept thinking she’d pop up again at the end, but nope.
Just ok
It was a somewhat interesting story of the times, albeit the characters were all very one dimensional.
This book provides an interesting perspective on this time in history.
Easy and entertaining read about love, hope and the novel idea of starting and maintaining a matchmaker business in WWII England
CWhat a fun read! It’s a perfect get away from the pandemic!
Reads like novel–but it’s the Real Deal! Such a fun read, and such great history information as we work thru this interesting collection of people & their stories
Penrose Halson’s The Marriage Bureau is essentially a history of the early years of the marriage agency that she later owned. That summary does little justice to the book itself, which, while obscure, is a fascinating read for anyone with an interest in World War II London.
Let’s begin at the beginning: In the late 30s, Heather Jenner and Mary Oliver decided to open a marriage bureau. The decision was remarkable for so many reasons: marriage agencies simply did not exist (the bureaucrats only wished they’d been able to site a regulation against such a business in the early days!). Equally, it was so unbecoming for a young woman, especially from the upper classes, to strike out on her own this way that Mary Oliver is but a pseudonym, so afraid was Audrey Mary Parsons that her parents would learn of her work.
The clients ranged from MPs and aristocrats to shop girls, mariners, and dock workers – with a heavy does of active duty military (men and women) thrown in. Given the number of foreigners passing through London during the war, there were also no shortages of foreigners. (Notably, the original idea for the marriage bureau originated with Mary’s Uncle George who suggested she try to find the many young men scattered across the Empire a wife during their rare leaves home.)
Using a system they devised, and relying heavily on the class strictures of the times, they consistently matched and married their clients. The Marriage Bureau is the story of these clients – some bordering on the hilarious and some downright tragic (there was a war on!) – but it’s also the history of civilian life in a city under siege. For it’s against the backdrop of air raids and ration coupons that Heather and Mary, later assisted by a broader cast of characters, do their work.
My favorite part of the book was actually the appendix, which includes the requirements of the clients, as written by themselves on their registration forms. Some were specific, as the woman who wished a man who was “Educated. Good looking. Self-assured. Mechanically minded. Handy around the house. Must have wavy hair.” Another stated that any perspective husband must have a February or May birthday. The most touching are those who hope fervently to stymie the pain of war: “My boy was killed during the war. If I can find through you someone like or as near as possible to what he was I should be very grateful.” The men’s requirements, too, were often tinged with fear and loss and war, from the men who have several years left in the service, to the many who has lost both of his hands but is keen for any prospective wife to know that he can manage everything for himself. It is these succinct little statements that ooze zeitgeist and human nature; a collection of these by itself would be worthy reading; the rest is all icing on top.
As far as a recommendation, if you can’t get enough of World War II history, particularly the more obscure bits, The Marriage Bureau will absolutely suit. For the reader who’s less sold on the topic, it’s probably closer to three-and-a-half stars than five.
(This review was originally published at https://www.thisyearinbooks.com/2018/12/the-marriage-bureau-true-story-of-how.html)
Interesting historical perspective of matchmaking and dating.
Interesting insight in a period of English history which I thought I knew.
Very disappointed in this book chosen because the description sounded intriguing. Too much time spent on the minutiae of setting up the office. Client interviews were briefly described as well as the matches. The best part of this book were the lists of requirements for men and women seeking spouses. Got bored about halfway through and skipped to the end.
Initially interesting but the last 1/3 kind of dragged. I was glad when I finished it.
What a delightful story. I loved it so much. I could see it as a BBC series in my mind. These women had drive, pluck, energy, and wit. Great read.
¿Fascinating true story.
Great true story. I had never imagined it could have been so successful in Wartime. The stories were, real about people who lived in a very uncertain time and did not want to be alone. So many wonderful stories with happy endings and others quite sad! Highly recommend if you love WWll.
It gave a totally different insight into the lives of people during WWII, immediately before and afterwards. The author did an excellent job of pulling all of the pieces together.
Of all the books I have read in the last year this one should be made into a movie. It was only after relating the book to another person did I realize it was a book. The characters are all there on the page but also a picture in ones mind.