Collection: Home Front in WW2

Britain’s Secret Wartime Economy uncovers the hidden trade that flourished whenever rationing, occupation, shortages and state control disrupted ordinary life during the Second World War.

Beginning with Britain’s black market and widening into occupied Europe, the series follows stolen goods, forged coupons, concealed supplies, smugglers and the unofficial networks that connected farms, docks, factories, shops, soldiers and households.

These books look beyond professional criminals to explore the ordinary people who bought, sold, exchanged or quietly diverted scarce goods. Some acted from greed, others from desperation, resistance or the simple desire for something the official economy could not provide.

Combining social, economic and criminal history with accessible storytelling and dry humour, Britain’s Secret Wartime Economy reveals the uncomfortable territory between survival and profiteering, ingenuity and exploitation, public sacrifice and private appetite.