Clair Wills: Lovers and Strangers - Migration Museum Shop

Clair Wills: Lovers and Strangers

Regular price£9.99
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Format

The battered and exhausted Britain of 1945 was desperate for workers - to rebuild, to fill the factories, to make the new NHS work. From all over the world and with many motives, thousands of individuals took the plunge. Most assumed they would spend just three or four years here, sending most of their pay back home, but instead large numbers stayed - and transformed the country.

Drawing on an amazing array of unusual and surprising sources, Clair Wills' wonderful new book brings to life the incredible diversity and strangeness of the migrant experience. She introduces us to lovers, scroungers, dancers, homeowners, teachers, drinkers, carers and many more to show the opportunities and excitement as much as the humiliation and poverty that could be part of the new arrivals' experience. Irish, Bengalis, West Indians, Poles, Maltese, Punjabis and Cypriots battled to fit into an often shocked Britain and, to their own surprise, found themselves making permanent homes. As Britain picked itself up again in the 1950s migrants set about changing life in their own image, through music, clothing, food, religion, but also fighting racism and casual and not so casual violence.

Lovers and Strangers is an extremely important book, one that is full of enjoyable surprises, giving a voice to a generation who had to deal with the reality of life surrounded by 'white strangers' in their new country.


464 pages

The last order date for Christmas delivery is Wednesday 18th December.

Click and collect from the museum in Lewisham is available to order until Friday 20th December, with collection by Sunday 22nd.

We currently ship to the UK via Royal Mail 48 delivery.

We are hoping to expand our shipping options to include international customers very soon.

Prices

Orders under £45 : £4.50

Orders over £45: Free

Dispatch and delivery time

We dispatch all orders within 2-5 working days. Please allow at least 6 working days for your item to arrive. 

We are a small team operating out of a venue which is open to the public. We will always do our best to keep you informed where there are any delays to our service. 

Click and Collect

We now offer free click and collect from the Migration Museum in Lewisham Shopping Centre. Please note that the museum is currently open Friday - Sunday.

Ordering our organic cotton, sustainable clothing range

In order that we are able to offer a wide range of sizes and variations of our most popular design, we work with a print-on-demand clothing company. These items will be fulfilled separately from other items ordered from the Migration Museum and will arrive separately.

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Support our museum

The Migration Museum explores how the movement of people to and from Britain across the ages has made us who we are – as individuals and as a nation.

All purchases help to fund our work.

Find out more
Borough of Culture
Based In Lewisham

We are very proud to be based in Lewisham. Lewisham is the London Borough of Culture 2022 and has a proud history of supporting refugees and migrants. It's been formally recognised as a Borough of Sanctuary and is teeming with creative individuals and communities.


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