National Treasures

Get in the xigxag app
Already purchased

Click to open directly in the xigxag app.

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book. Pre-order Buy Now £{{ price }} Send as a gift

Listen to a sample

What to expect

The gigantic covert wartime mission led by the men and women of London's museums and galleries to save the nation's priceless heritage.

As Hitler prepared to invade Poland during the sweltering summer of 1939, men and women from across London's museums, galleries and archives formulated ingenious plans to send the nation's highest prized objects to safety. Using stately homes, tube tunnels, slate mines, castles, prisons, stone quarries and even their own homes, a dedicated bunch of unlikely misfits packed up the nation's greatest treasures and, in a race against time, dispatched them throughout the country on a series of top-secret wartime adventures.

National Treasures highlights a moment from our history when an unlikely coalition of mild-mannered civil servants, social oddballs and metropolitan aesthetes became the front line in the heritage war against Hitler. Caroline Shenton shares the interwoven lives of ordinary people who kept calm and carried on in the most extraordinary of circumstances in their efforts to save the Nation's historic identity.

(P) 2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critics Review

Geeks triumph over the forces of darkness: nothing could have given me greater pleasure. Combining an exciting story with scrupulous research, Caroline Shenton has done her unlikely heroes proud

Lucy Worsley

An engrossing and uplifting story of how some of the greatest treasures of Britains museum, gallery and library collections were protected and preserved during the darkest days of WWII

Richard Ovenden, author of Burning the Books

Shenton has the archivist’s unerring eye for detail and the storyteller’s instinct for what will make a compelling tale. It is brought to life with energy and confidence

Julie Summers, bestselling author of Jambusters

Entertaining, surprising and full of brilliant vignettes, Shenton does justice to one of the great untold stories of the Second World War

Josh Ireland, author of Churchill & Son

Fascinating, engaging and often eye-stretching, Caroline Shenton’s account of the battle to save the nation’s greatest treasures during wartime features a wonderfully eclectic cast of oddballs, bluestockings and endearingly eccentric aristocrats. A cracking read

Giles Milton

Shenton manages to combine scholarly and diligent research with a powerful narrative drive and a hugely entertaining taste for the anecdotal. Moreover, her cast of characters wouldn’t disgrace an Ealing comedy. I haven’t enjoyed a book so much in years

Adrian Tinniswood

Reveals the wonderfully inventive ways Britain’s great museums hid their priceless exhibits from Hitler’s bombs

Daily Mail

Vigorously researched and highly entertaining

Daily Telegraph

About xigxag

Enjoy the best audiobooks on xigxag, an innovative, user-friendly audiobook platform that makes it easy to find, purchase, and enjoy your favorite books in audio format. xigxag’s flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less – affordable prices and the best audiobook deals with no subscription required.  Give the perfect gift with our audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

 

xigxag’s commitment to sustainability and ethical practices ensures a guilt-free listening experience from an exceptional digital book platform – an exciting alternative to big tech.  Enjoy audiobooks from the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service and a leader in audiobook innovation.

 

Search effortlessly, read honest audiobook reviews evaluating both the book and the narration, and discover hidden gems.  Download or stream top audiobook titles anytime, anywhere and get the best possible listening experience on the UK’s best independent audiobook app.  Experience the future of audiobooks today.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.