Testament of Youth
by Vera Brittainliterary work· published 1933
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Testament of Youth is a memoir of British nurse and activist Vera Brittain (1893–1970), published in 1933. Brittain's memoir covers the years 1900 to 1925, and continues with Testament of Experience, published in 1957, and encompassing the years 1925 to 1950. Between these two books comes Testament of Friendship (published in 1940), which is essentially a memoir of Brittain's close colleague and friend Winifred Holtby. A final segment of memoir, to be called Testament of Faith or Testament of Time, was planned by Brittain but remained unfinished at her death. Testament of Youth has been acclaimed as a classic for its description of the impact of the First World War on the lives of women and the middle-class civilian population of the United Kingdom.
Adaptations (2)
Testament of Youth has been adapted 2 times, across television series and film, from 1979 to 2014.
Testament of Youth1979 · television series · 275 min · IMDb ↗IMDb8.6A dramatization of Vera Brittain's 1933 autobiography Testament of Youth—a memorial to a generation devastated by WWI—chronicles her experiences as a nurse in London and Malta and at the front lines in France. It opens with 18-year-old Vera, the genteel daughter of a paper-mill owner, nurturing "hopes of escaping from provincial young ladyhood." Her plan is to attend Oxford.
Testament of Youth2014 · film · 129 min · dir. James Kent · IMDb ↗Testament of Youth is a powerful story of love, war and remembrance, based on the First World War memoir by Vera Brittain, which has become the classic testimony of that war from a woman’s point of view. A searing journey from youthful hopes and dreams to the edge of despair and back again, it’s a film about young love, the futility of war and how to make sense of the darkest times.
