Abstract
The title of this book derives from the famous announcement made by Sir Edward Grey, British foreign secretary, on 3 August 1914: ‘The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our life-time’. Its purpose is to gather together varied items of reporting from the period of the Great War (1914–1918), all of which are taken from the Manchester Guardian, as it was then known. C. P. Scott was still the editor at that time, and readership of the newspaper was largely the liberal middle and upper classes. The fragments assembled in the book are fascinating, providing details not only of the military conflict that shattered Europe but also of the everyday life that continued as the fighting went on. Where necessary, explanatory detail is offered in italicised script alongside the journalism, and as well as wartime photographs, contemporary adverts from the paper – such as those for National War Bonds, The Polish Victims Relief Fund, Bourneville Cocoa and Gong Soups, ‘a ready-to-hand substitute for fresh meat during the present restrictions’ – are interspersed throughout. The book comes with a foreword from Kate Adie.