Ethel & Ernest

Product Information

Book in VG condition with small neat gift inscriptions jacket with a bit of wear and two closed tears to rear. There's WWII of course, the fear of the nuclear shadow, the appearance of television, the moon landing; changes that can be delivered either soberly or humorously.

The clipped dustwrapper is likewise Near Fine+: clean and bright - an unusually fresh example; a tiny mark and small rub to the heel of the spine; presented in a removable, archival-quality Brodart protective cover. Briggs shows us scenes from his imagination of his parents’ lives: how they met, raised a family during a destructive world war, and lived through the cultural roller-coaster ride of the 20th century.There is no commentary or moralising, no idyllic or disasterous childhoods, no extolling of the values of family life or solidarity during the Blitz or respect for one's elders - just a series of snapshots of married life, mortgages, ancient washing machines, political disputes (Ernest is a staunch socialist, Ethel an unreconstructed Tory) and hospital endings. While reading it I discovered that this book is really about life, love, and how quick times are changing when it comes to history and technology. Overall a near fine copy and rare to find signed without dedication by Raymond Briggs to the title page. It tells the story of the lives of Briggs' parents from their first meeting in 1928 to their deaths in 1971.

Beginning with Ethel working as a lady's maid and Ernest passing her house as a milkman we see the couple fall in love, marry and begin their lives together. A celebrated author and illustrator, Raymond Briggs’ works include the seasonal classics, Father Christmas and The Snowman as well as Fungus the Bogeyman. Seeing the world change in oh so many ways, making the best of everything, sticking together for better and for worse. Although they have differing political views and many marital squabbles, they obviously deeply care for each other. I thought it would be very interesting to read this book because why would an author make a graphic novel about his ordinary parents?There is something very powerful about the simple text, mixed with a large dose of humour between the husband and wife, coupled with images that make the experience of reading this book into something very special. I find it interesting how different each decade appears in this book and how easily our opinions changes during our life.