Synopses & Reviews
Winston and Clementine Churchill wrote to each other constantly throughout the fifty-seven years of their life together, from the passionate and charming exchanges of their courtship and early marriage until the year before Winston's death in 1965. Written solely for each other's eyes, spontaneously and with great candor, their letters provide rare and revealing insights into both the great political and social events of a turbulent century and the intimate world of an extraordinary partnership. Here are Winston's and Clementine's vividly expressed reactions to the social reforms of the era, the harrowing experience in the trenches of the western front, the personalities of world leaders, the early defeats and the long-awaited victories of the Second World War. In moving detail we hear of Churchills dramatic career and his final, deeply felt reflections on the fading of his enormous powers. Here also are domestic minutiae, society gossip, financial anxieties and minor quarrels, private jokes, and endearments. To read these letters is to view the grand sweep of history reflected in the daily triumphs and tragedies of two allies in love, politics, and life. Mary Soames, the only surviving child of this remarkable couple, has brought her parents to life as no biography could. We hear Winston in his own voice, broken and somber, contemplating the failure of the Dardanelles campaign in 1915, the nadir of his career. And we hear Clementine, compassionate and strong, responding with words of measured advice, her love, and her belief in his historic destiny. Above all, their correspondence illuminates what Soames calls "their enduring and heroic partnership," a partnership that was not free of troubles but was built on a foundation of affection, humor, and loyalty. Bringing these letters together for the first time, Winston and Clementine is a personal and often surprising portrait of one of history's titanic figures. It is also an important and powerful document of our times.
Review
"WINSTON AND CLEMENTINE is a fascinating view into the public and private life of one of this century's defining figures. It is also a deeply moving love story that spanned more than a half century. Churchill's beloved "Clemmie" deserves a place in history next to his own." -- Dr. Henry Kissinger
Review
"By the end of this enormous volume, readers will find themselves marveling." The New York Times
"A permanent contribution to the history of our times." --Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
Synopsis
On the 125th anniversary of Winston Churchill's birth, his only surviving child brings a rich and intimate portrait of a great leader, a heroic partnership, and a turbulent century. 113 photos. 6 maps.
About the Author
Mary Soames, born in 1922, is the youngest and only surviving child of Winston and Clementine Churchill. During World War II she served in mixed antiaircraft batteries in England and northwestern Europe and accompanied her father as an aide on several wartime overseas journeys. In 1947 she married Captain Christopher Soames, later Lord Soames, the politician and diplomat, a vice president of the European Commission and the last governor of Southern Rhodesia. He died in 1987; they had five children. She is the author of Clementine Churchill: The Biography of a Marriage, which won the Wolfson Prize for history, A Churchill Family Album, The Profligate Duke, and Winston Churchill: His Life as a Painter.
Table of Contents
Contents
List of Illustrations..............................................vii List of Maps.......................................................xii Preface...........................................................xiii Acknowledgements...................................................xxi Editor's Note.....................................................xxiv Family Tree.......................................................xxvi Introduction.........................................................1 Chapter I COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE..............................7 Chapter II SETTING OUT........................................18 Chapter III HOME OFFICE........................................39 Chapter IV ADMIRALTY..........................................58 Chapter V HARVEST OF WAR.....................................99 Chapter VI THE DARDANELLES...................................107 Chapter VII PLUG STREET'.....................................140 Chapter VIII HIS TRUE PLACE....................................184 Chapter IX LAST HEAVE........................................203 Chapter X PIPING IN PEACE...................................218 Chapter XI DARK YEAR.........................................236 Chapter XII NO SEAT, NO PARTY, NO APPENDIX....................263 Chapter XIII NUMBER ELEVEN.....................................287 Chapter XIV WESTWARD, LOOK, THE LAND IS BRIGHT!'.............334 Chapter XV NOT WANTED ON VOYAGE'............................350 Chapter XVI BUT THERE'S AN ISLAND YONDER ....................363 Chapter XVII DARKENING HORIZONS................................401 Chapter XVIII NONE SO DEAF......................................420 Chapter XIX PEACE WITH DISHONOUR..............................438 Chapter XX INTO THE BREACH AGAIN.............................453 Chapter XXI JOURNEYINGS AND PARLEYINGS........................471 Chapter XXII TIDE OF VICTORY...................................496 Chapter XXIIII WORLDS APART......................................519 Chapter XXIV BLESSING IN DISGUISE..............................532 Chapter XXV NO. 10 AGAIN......................................562 Chapter XXVI TIME TO GO........................................578 Chapter XXVII SEEKING SUNSHINE..................................593 Chapter XXVIII KEEP RIGHT ON TO THE END OF THE ROAD'............615 Chapter XXIX LENGTHENING SHADOWS...............................635 Biographical Notes.................................................648 Nicknames and Aliases..............................................663 Bibliography.......................................................666 Index..............................................................669