{"title":"Home Front in WW2","description":"\u003cp\u003eBritain’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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBeginning 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCombining 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-warden-of-blackout-lane","title":"Air Raid Warden Mystery On Blackout Lane During Wartime Britain","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 42, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn wartime Britain, darkness is the norm—and secrets thrive when the lights go out. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eNight after night, the air-raid warden patrols Blackout Lane, checking shaded windows, guiding frightened neighbours, and listening for the distant drone of enemy bombers. Yet a closer threat emerges: a forbidden glow flickers behind an abandoned house, footsteps vanish at the end of a sealed alley, and whispers pass between residents beneath the blackout. As suspicion spreads, the warden must decide whom to trust—and whether the greatest danger lies in the skies or on the streets below.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Warden of Blackout Lane unfolds as an atmospheric historical mystery, weaving wartime tension with community spirit, concealed loyalties, and ordinary people displaying extraordinary courage. Rich in period detail—ration books, air-raid sirens, sandbags and secrets—it sweeps readers into a Britain where vigilance is daily life and secrets can be deadly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat sets this mystery apart\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCharacter-driven tension: a custodian of safety navigating fear, rumour, and loyalties tested under pressure.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistorical immersion: an authentic wartime setting with daily challenges of rationing, blackout rules, and neighbourly bonds.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHidden identities and espionage: whispers beneath the blackout hint at undercover dangers that reach into ordinary streets.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEmotional heartbeat: courage, community, and the quiet heroism of ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eIdeal for readers who\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLove British wartime fiction and Home Front stories\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEnjoy historical mysteries where atmosphere drives the suspense more than pulse-pounding action\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAppreciate stories about ordinary people with extraordinary bravery\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen every curtain must remain closed, uncovering the truth becomes a dangerous business. Add this atmospheric mystery to your collection and walk the line between vigilance and vulnerability on Blackout Lane.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Robs Books","offers":[{"title":"PDF","offer_id":57769368027480,"sku":null,"price":5.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"ePub","offer_id":57769368060248,"sku":null,"price":5.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Flip Book","offer_id":57769368093016,"sku":null,"price":5.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0929\/9768\/1496\/files\/air-raid-warden-mystery-on-blackout-lane-during-wartime-britain-2989085.png?v=1788282677"},{"product_id":"under-the-counter-britain-s-wwii-black-market","title":"Under the Counter | Britain’s WWII Black Market","description":"\u003cp\u003eBritain’s wartime rationing system promised fair shares for all. Beneath it grew a second economy built upon hidden supplies, forged coupons, stolen goods and private arrangements.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnder the Counter explores the black market that flourished across Britain during and after the Second World War. It follows goods diverted from farms, docks, factories, warehouses and shops, as well as the traders and customers who brought them into ordinary homes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe focus is the world of illicit meat, scarce tea, cigarettes, petrol, silk stockings and bottles quietly kept aside for people willing to pay. It is also the world of inspectors, police officers and magistrates who struggle to defend a rationing system that relies on public consent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRobin Wickens looks beyond the familiar image of the flamboyant spiv to examine the much larger population that sustained illegal trade: shopkeepers, publicans, workers, servicemen, householders and respectable customers who believed that one small exception could do no harm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWritten with wit, clarity and sympathy, Under the Counter is both an absorbing social history and an examination of the compromises people make when official rules collide with appetite, opportunity and need.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is Book One of Britain’s Secret Wartime Economy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKey subjects include the following:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e• British food and clothing rationing\u003cbr\u003e• Spivs, thieves and professional dealers\u003cbr\u003e• Dock, warehouse and railway theft\u003cbr\u003e• Forged and misused ration coupons\u003cbr\u003e• Farming and the illicit meat trade\u003cbr\u003e• Ministry of Food enforcement\u003cbr\u003e• Wartime morality and social inequality\u003cbr\u003e• The survival of rationing after 1945\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Robs Books","offers":[{"title":"PDF","offer_id":57971283755352,"sku":null,"price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Epub","offer_id":57971283788120,"sku":null,"price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Flip Book","offer_id":57971283820888,"sku":null,"price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0929\/9768\/1496\/files\/under-the-counter-britains-wwii-black-market-2035798.png?v=1788282629"},{"product_id":"victory-for-sale-spivs-smugglers-and-britain-s-post-war-black-market","title":"Victory for Sale: Spivs, Smugglers and Britain’s Post-War Black Market","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 42, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe war was over, but Britain’s shortages were not.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter years of sacrifice, the British public expected victory to bring full shelves, better meals and the return of ordinary life. Instead, ration books remained in use, queues continued and some restrictions became harsher than they had been during the fighting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScarcity created opportunity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSharp-suited spivs offered cigarettes, stockings and whisky. Forgers produced valuable coupons, dockers and drivers diverted consignments, and organised gangs moved stolen meat, clothing, petrol and spirits through a network of pubs, warehouses, shops and private homes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYet Britain’s post-war black market did not consist solely of professional criminals. Respectable shopkeepers reserved goods beneath the counter. Farmers sold produce outside official channels. Ordinary householders exchanged coupons, accepted mysterious parcels and justified their purchases as small necessities rather than serious crimes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVictory for Sale follows Britain’s underground economy from VE Day to the ending of food rationing in 1954. Blending social history, crime and dry British humour, Robin Wickens explores the people, goods and moral compromises hidden behind the official story of victory.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDiscover how:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRationing continued and sometimes expanded after the war\u003cbr\u003eStolen and diverted goods travelled from docks and depots to private customers\u003cbr\u003eForgers turned coupons and permits into paper fortunes\u003cbr\u003ePubs, workplaces and legitimate shops supported illicit distribution\u003cbr\u003eInspectors and police attempted to identify organised offenders\u003cbr\u003eOrdinary people distinguished between greedy profiteering and a little extra for the family\u003cbr\u003eAbundance, rather than punishment, finally broke the classic rationing-era black market\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is the third volume in the Under the Counter series, following Under the Counter: Britain’s Black Market During the Second World War and Europe Under the Counter: Smugglers, Survivors and Shadow Economies in Occupied Europe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIdeal for readers of British social history, post-war history, true crime, rationing history and unconventional accounts of everyday life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe fighting had stopped. The ration books had not.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Robs Books","offers":[{"title":"PDF","offer_id":57978280968536,"sku":null,"price":6.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"ePub","offer_id":57978281001304,"sku":null,"price":6.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Flip Book","offer_id":57978281034072,"sku":null,"price":4.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0929\/9768\/1496\/files\/victory-for-sale-spivs-smugglers-and-britains-post-war-black-market-9498491.png?v=1788282637"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0929\/9768\/1496\/collections\/UndertheCountercovesmallr.png?v=1788281467","url":"https:\/\/robsbooks.com.co\/collections\/home-front-in-ww2.oembed","provider":"Robs Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}