Against the backdrop of the blitzkrieg on Poland and the disastrous Norway campaign, Britain waited tensely for an invasion that never came. Drawing on unpublished letters, this narrative history presents the stories of ordinary people as the lights went out, theatres closed, food and petrol were rationed and thousands of women and children were evacuated. While the hard-hitting measures caused morale to plunge, there was still humour to be found in the absurdities of the ‘Phoney War’.