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    The Marriage Bureau: The True Story of How Two Matchmakers Arranged Love in Wartime London
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    The Marriage Bureau: The True Story of How Two Matchmakers Arranged Love in Wartime London
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    The Marriage Bureau: The True Story of How Two Matchmakers Arranged Love in Wartime London
    Ebook353 pages5 hours

    The Marriage Bureau: The True Story of How Two Matchmakers Arranged Love in Wartime London

    By Penrose Halson

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    A riveting glimpse of life and love during and after World War II—a heart-warming, touching, and thoroughly absorbing true story of a world gone by.

    In the spring of 1939, with the Second World War looming, two determined twenty-four-year-olds, Heather Jenner and Mary Oliver, decided to open a marriage bureau. They found a tiny office on London’s Bond Street and set about the delicate business of matchmaking. Drawing on the bureau’s extensive archives, Penrose Halson—who many years later found herself the proprietor of the bureau—tells their story, and those of their clients.

    From shop girls to debutantes; widowers to war veterans, clients came in search of security, social acceptance, or simply love. And thanks to the meticulous organization and astute intuition of the Bureau’s matchmakers, most found what they were looking for.

    Penrose Halson draws from newspaper and magazine articles, advertisements, and interviews with the proprietors themselves to bring the romance and heartbreak of matchmaking during wartime to vivid, often hilarious, life in this unforgettable story of a most unusual business.

    “A book full of charm and hilarity.”—Country Life

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMay 2, 2017
    ISBN9780062562678
    Author

    Penrose Halson

    Penrose Halson's career encompassed teaching, writing, editing and, to her astonishment, becoming first lady Master of a City Livery Company. Her determined mother sent her to the Katharine Allen Marriage & Advice Bureau, of which she became proprietor in 1986. In 1992 it incorporated Heather Jenner's agency. Aged forty-eight she finally delighted her mother by marrying and lives in London with her husband. She is the author of Marriages Are Made in Bond Street.

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    Reviews for The Marriage Bureau

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      A delightful book! By turns humorous, serious, and at times heartbreaking with characters that are pompous, humble, and everywhere between Mary Oliver pitched her Uncle George's idea of the a match-making business. Mary was looking for a job that interested her so she could be independent and not marry a tediously respectable individual and wind up presiding over a tea plantation somewhere. Heather Jenner thought she was jesting when Mary told her of her idea. The book follows the Marriage Bureau from its inception through 1949 and the changing demands of its clientele, the changes in staff, and the couples that turned up for the business's tenth anniversary. An interesting and wonderful read!
    • 4/5
      This is a charming book about a matchmaking bureau started in 1939 London by two young women. This book is full of stories of men and women - quirky, individual, with unique needs and desires - looking for spouses. It's fascinating reading about this type of system before computers, when everything was kept on note cards or in one's head. The backdrop of the book, 1939-1949 London, provides a fascinating look at life during the war and directly after. Overall this is fun, interesting, and sad at times. Recommended.
    • 3/5
      "They all want to get together but they never meet. Let's introduce them!"My parents met through the Heather Jenner marriage bureau and are still together! So this account of the first ten years of the first British marriage bureau, was quite an interesting and entertaining read.When independent farmer's daughter Audrey Parsons (aka Mary Oliver) disappointed her parents by failing to settle down to marriage, she took on board the idea of an uncle in India - that there were many wife-less colonials, many lonely spinsters in England, and they could do with bringing together.In the company of her friend, Heather Jenner, she started up a bureau in London in 1939. Despite the fears of some that it would foster immorality, it became unbelievably successful; this light-hearted account gives some of the lifestories- romantic, comical and tragic. As World War 2 took hold, the women had to cope with the blitz going on around them, widows, injured servicemen, GI's...They came to be seen as agony aunts, writing for newspaper problem pages, judging baby shows, appearing on radio shows. And meanwhile their own lives too moved on..Easy reading, quitye fun- and the appendix, featuring the clients' often eclectic requirements had me laughing out loud.The author was a later owner of the bureau.
    • 4/5
      'The Marriage Bureau' is a charming, interesting read. It's the true story of a pair of plucky young Englishwomen in London (Heather Jenner and Mary Oliver) who start up a matchmaking office in 1939, as England is on the brink of WWII.Miraculously, the daughter of one of the women saved all her archives which serve as a wonderful material source for this story which unfolds against a background of war. The reader gets a taste of what it was like to live in wartime London, with the bombs, and the losses and deprivations of war. Yet, the indomitable spirit of the English people prevails as live goes on despite this.The story is at turns hilarious, sad, poignant, tragic, and happy. The various clients and employees of the "bureau" each have their own story, and those are as varied as life itself. Told in a narrative fashion, this book is a delight for the reader - especially for Anglophiles and those interested in English life during the WWII.
    • 4/5
      This non-fiction book was a very enjoyable read. It's the story of two friends who started a marriage bureau in London just before the outbreak of WWII. Using material from a company archive (and how fortunate that these materials had been saved!), the author presents matchmaking stories that are funny, sad, touching, and occasionally outrageous or heartrending. The ins and outs of how the matchmakers dealt with their clients - and what a variety of clients they were - is fascinating. And the matchmakers themselves were quite unusual characters too. If you enjoyed Call the Midwife or Home Fires, this is the book for you. I received a copy through the Early Reviewers Giveaway.
    • 5/5
      Marriage Bureau is a true story of two women Mary and Heather during 1939 who created the need for a marriage bureau. Originally Mary comes up with the idea from her uncle because in 1939 their tons of English men living in India and other British colonies. Moreover, when they come back for short periods for visits, their hopes are to meet a woman in England. So begin Mary and Heather's plan to bring the marriage bureau to life. Soon they were introducing men to ladies in the hopes to come together and then correspond with while away. If all lead up to marriage, then Mary or Heather interviewed the couple, to see if, in the end, the marriage would work out. If wedding bells rang for a couple, then a fee was paid to the Marriage Bureau. During the World War II, their business boomed but also continued long after the war years. The people Mary and Heather meet and the couples that they put together made for a beautiful story with moments of laughter and joy and unfortunately heartache and loss.
    • 5/5
      I received a free ARC from the Early Reviewers Giveaway in exchange for my honest opinion. I give this book 4.5 stars because I absolutely loved it (the 1/2 star missing is because the ARC did not have the listed photographs in there!)I think PBS should take a close look at this book and make it into a TV series (similar to "Call the Midwife", which also started as a book). I can see many episodes coming out of this book alone, but I am sure there are more that can be dug up!Great Job!
    • 4/5
      A neat story about how two friends decide to start a business introducing appropriate singles to one another during World War II in London. Mary and Heather did not allow traditional roles of women during this time stop them from doing what they wanted. They became very successful and formed many happy unions. Great characters and a great story!
    • 4/5
      The Marriage BureauIn 1939 pre-war London, Heather Jenner and Mary Oliverbegan a matchmaking service that brought to all sorts of individualsan opportunity to meet a possible match.The clientele were "shop girls to debutantes; widowers to war veterans, clients came in search of security, social acceptance, or simply love."Written research and interviews brought a personal note to theseliaisons.I found particularly interesting a section of the book listing "Requirements of Female Clients 1939-circa 1949."Likewise, a list of" Requirements of Male Clients 1939-circa 1949" as well as "Interviewers Comments" recorded during this period.An example might be "Sufficiently educated to make a fair success of a Times crossword puzzle.""No encumbrances, fine character, no doctors."A novel non-fiction.Library Thing giveaway...thank you
    • 4/5
      In late 1938, Heather Jenner and her friend, Mary Oliver decided to open a business that had never been done in London before: a marriage bureau. Matchmaking clients of all classes, occupations, and backgrounds, Heather and Mary began with no idea of how popular their service would be, the wide variety of people they'd see and stories they'd hear, or the way it would alter their experience of the war years. Halson's recounting of the first decade of the marriage bureau (1939-1949ish) is fantastic filled with tales of fascinating individuals, frequent humour, occasional heartbreak, and, of course, lots of happy endings. I got particular delight out of the appendix which highlights some of the more delightful requests from both male and female clients about traits they wanted in a partner. Highly recommended, particularly to fans of Downton Abbey and/or Call the Midwife.
    • 4/5
      This book gives insight into how Londoners--as well as people from a variety of other locales--found "Mr. Right" or "Miss Right" from the years just before World War II up through the late 1940s. (The Marriage Bureau, in fact, still exists and continues to arrange meetings between suitable partners.)I enjoyed this book because it was written in a breezy, almost conversational style which gives the thoughts and comments of the co-founders and others who were most involved in its success. Had this information been presented in a more austere tone full of statistics, I doubt the book would have been as fun to read. While I'm sure it won't win any awards as a great scholarly work, it did give a glimpse into life in London during World War II and what single men and women went through to find true love. Some stories are hilarious, some are heart-breaking, and many are just entertaining without going to one extreme or the other.I recommend this book for anyone who has an interest in World War II and how people coped with life in that era.I received this book free through the Library Thing Early Reviewers program in exchange for a fair and honest review.
    • 5/5
      This was delightful reading and I thoroughly appreciated the author's efforts to have dialogue between the bureau's owners/workers and clients, as well as follow-ups by searching through letters, interviews, and records of the company. To imagine this idea without the aid of computers is impressive and the fact that the women could remember the details of the clients as they worked to match them, even with the extensive interviews and notes they compiled, to say nothing of trying to keep it all organized! My only wish was that there was some way to know what became of Audrey Parsons when she left the bureau and moved off to the United States.
    • 5/5
      This non-fiction story of a matchmaking pair of friends and their clients is a great read. The descriptions of the people they need to match up really draw you into the story, as you hope for a happy ending for the good ones, and a fitting end to the not-so-good ones. Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      Prior to WWII Mary Oliver was spurred on by her Uncle George to open a marriage bureau. She convinced her friend, Heather Jenner to go in with her. They set up offices just off London's Bond Street, figuring to get some good traffic for their matchmaking business. Being pre-computer age, their records were kept on cards and in a large ledger book. Applicants filled out forms about themselves and what they were looking for in a mate. The appearance of the desired mate, likes, dislikes, finances, social standing and any thing that would be important. Some of them are quite funny and some very touching, but all show how human people are.The author, who became the owner of the business in 1986, used records, press stories, letters and other research to put together this great read of life in England around WWII. The hardships of the war, the affects on lives and what people were looking for in companionship to make their world a little better for them. There is humour, sadness, a little heartbreak: an enjoyable read over all.The copy I read is a proof and I noticed that there are to be photos in the final release. It would have been nice to see the images, to add to the flavour of the book, but the author did a great job in bringing the stories to life with her words and style of writing.
    • 4/5
      Before there was E-harmony or Tinder, there was The Marriage Bureau, which is recounted in Penelope Halson's book of the same name.In 1938, twenty-four-year-old Audrey Parsons had already been through a litany of jobs near her home in England. She worked in a factory (too boring), as a dental receptionist (too bloody- she had to pick up teeth off the floor!), as a photographer's assistant (the darkroom was too dark), as a delivery girl for a cake shop (fired for eating the cakes) and as a riding instructor (she refused to muck out the stables).Audrey went to visit her Uncle George in Assam, India and he gave her the idea of starting a marriage bureau in London. There were so many young men working overseas looking for a wife to join them, he thought Audrey could do something about that.So Audrey found a partner in Heather, who was practical and logical in contrast to Audrey (now called Mary), who was more romantic and imaginative. They made a perfect team for this job!The Marriage Bureau was formed, and thanks to a slew of good publicity in local newspapers, it was successful right out of the gate. The idea was that people would come in and be interviewed, giving their requirements for a potential spouse. They paid a small fee, and if a match led to marriage, they paid an After Marriage Fee.The Marriage Bureau: The True Story of How Two Matchmakers Arranged Love in Wartime London is filled with stories of the many clients who came in looking for love. Their first wedding was a 68 year-old bride to a 70 year-old groom, which garnered so much publicity (including a short documentary film) that the bureau was overrun with inquiries across the world- India, dozens of African nations, and once WWII broke out, even American servicemen stationed in England used their services.The stories are charming and sad, and some are even maddening. Mary and Heather were so successful, they even found a match for Cedric, a man they both found unappealing and disagreeable. Maybe there is a lid for every pot.At the end of the book, there are two lists that must be read- Requirements for Female Clients 1939-1949 and Requirements for Male Clients 1939-1949. These lists contain such specific client requests as:Women required:Not too sophisticated but not too dumbMan who will cherish a large womanI divorced my husband who was teacher. Not another teacherNo bridge, pub crawling, golf, passion for The Club or AmericansMen required:No hysteria, no gold diggers; likes mountaineeringAble to play a portable instrument (string or woodwind) well. Rather a prairie than a hothouse flowerSomeone who doesn't expect too muchA nice, stylish girl, not too brainy, with the appearance of a West End mannequin. No objection to a rich widow. Someone who likes living and is human.Reading this put me in mind of PBS' series Home Fires, and if you like that, this book is for you. Mary and Heather were women ahead of their time, and I enjoyed reading about their successful business and all of the lovely people they helped to find love. I recommend The Marriage Bureau.
    • 4/5
      Nowadays you can swipe right or scroll through dozens of people suggested by an algorithm on any number of internet dating sites in the search for your soulmate but before the internet, those searching for love had far fewer resources. They could hope to just meet someone serendipitously, they could ask for their family and friends to introduce them to likely partners, or, just before World War II, they could sign up with the Marriage Bureau, a brand new matchmaking service opened in 1939 and located in London. Penrose Halson, who not only ran her own matchmaking service in the Katherine Allen Marriage and Advice Bureau and eventually bought the original Marriage Bureau but also used the service herself, has written a charming, entertaining history of the unconventional agency and the tales of some of the clients and the matches they made under the bureau's auspices.Audrey Parsons went out to India to marry a man near her uncle's remote tea plantation. Once there she knew they wouldn't suit and she ended by returning to England. This wasn't the first time that a trip to India and an engagement didn't end at the altar for her, much to her parents' chagrin. What she did come home with though was the seed of the idea, proposed by her uncle, that would eventually become the Marriage Bureau. Enlisting her friend, Heather Jenner, a socially astute divorcee, the two women determined to start a business that would match up eligible single men and women with suitable people they might not otherwise meet. Jenner and Parsons, the latter using the name Mary Oliver to hide her potentially scandalous actions from her parents, built the first matchmaking business of its kind even as the shadow of WWII loomed ever closer. The two women insisted on interviewing each of their clients, and they maintained a meticulous record of each person in order to find good and viable matches for as many people as possible. They took into consideration not only class and age but also some interesting and unique wants and likes. Their businesslike approach and astute use of feel-good publicity grew their business into a thriving concern and many people did in fact find their partner and happiness through the auspices of the Marriage Bureau.This delightful true story captures the imagination of the reader much as the business did of a nation starved for positive news in the face of an imminent war. The tales of the real people who turned to Jenner and Oliver run the gamut. Some people were delights while others were positively difficult and demanding. The way that they carefully vetted all clients was fascinating and reflected the mores and attitudes of the time. Starting in 1939 and initially thought of as a good way for expats only back in Blighty for a brief time to find a wife, the bureau expanded to take on all sorts from local to international and it stayed as busy, if not more so, during the war, as it had beforehand. Because of the inclusion of the stories of the matches, the narrative has a very episodic feel to it. Its general tone is sweet and cheerful although there are certainly some very poignant and sad tales included as well. The very end includes lists of actual comments the interviewers made about the clients and some were a bit horrifyingly unkind but they were entertaining all the same (although I shudder to think what notes on me might have looked like). The book only covers the first ten years of the bureau's existence and I would have liked more on how the bureau evolved over the years, even if only in an epilogue. This is a quick read, a fascinating snapshot of a time and a society, a very different angle on the war years indeed.
    • 4/5
      This book, titled either "The Marriage Bureau" or "Marriages are made in Bond Street", is the true story of two twenty-something girls (one single, one divorced) who found a "marriage bureau" in London a few years after World War II, and about the matches they make. Business takes off quickly and there are a lot of quirky, funny stories. It's pretty funny, and very fluffy, without a whole lot of plot: just like "so they got these two people together and they got on splendidly and quickly married, and then this guy had some insanely specific requests but luckily they were able to match him with a wife" over and over and over.You don't really get a sense of the character of either of the two protagonists, and one of them marries an American, moves away and drops out of sight midway through the book. The current author actually bought the Marriage Bureau herself in 1986.If you liked the "Call the Midwife" books/TV series, you will probably like this book -- in fact I've heard it's going to be made into a TV series too. It was a bit too fluffy for my taste, but I can definitely see a market for it.
    • 3/5
      The true story of a marriage bureau, the first of its kind, in London around World War II. An idea that many saw as an impossibility, two young women knew they could make work. Heather Jennifer and Mary Oliver succeeded when no one thought they could. The book begins just prior to the decision to open the Bureau and ends on its 10th anniversary. The Bureau helped 3,000 couples meet and find love.

      The book was a quick read that detailed stories of the owners and those who they interviewed. They go through their application process and tell horror stories of some of their worst clients. They also detail heartbreaking stories of some of their poorer customers who were looking for someone to grow old with. It wasn't exactly the book I thought it would be but it was still a fairly decent read.
    • 3/5
      I chose “The Marriage Bureau” because of my keen interest in World War II and a bigger interest in people and what makes them tick. The book is non-fiction but has a fictional style to it. It started well, but for me, it faded as the book read on. How many ways can you write about people being matched up? It was almost too casual in the writing style. Like art, the beauty of books is in the eye of the reader. For me, the beauty just wasn’t there.