{"product_id":"maidens-trip-a-wartime-adventure-on-the-grand-union-canal","title":"Maidens' Trip A Wartime Adventure on the Grand Union Canal","description":"The book is a memoir set during World War II. In 1943, eighteen-year-old Emma Smith joins the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company as part of a wartime effort to replace male boat workers who had gone to war. Alongside two other young women, she learns to operate canal boats transporting cargo between London, Birmingham, and Coventry.\n\nThe memoir follows their demanding and often humorous experiences navigating England’s canals, handling locks and tunnels, living in cramped conditions, and adapting to the tough boating community. Beyond the adventure, the story captures themes of independence, friendship, and personal growth during wartime Britain. First published in 1948, the book is regarded as a vivid and affectionate portrait of canal life and changing social roles for women during the war.  Tells the story of how three girls abandon their middle-class comforts for an adventure of a lifetime during the Second World War.\nVery Good condition almost like new.","brand":"Windsor\/Paragon","offers":[{"title":"Ex-Library \/ 000160001","offer_id":48068230054039,"sku":"9781445854335-EL-000160001","price":6.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0741\/9002\/8951\/files\/9781445854335-uk.jpg?v=1785062582","url":"https:\/\/thriftreads.co.nz\/products\/maidens-trip-a-wartime-adventure-on-the-grand-union-canal","provider":"Thrift Reads","version":"1.0","type":"link"}