Synopses & Reviews
This strikingly original book introduces a Winston Churchill we have not known before. Award-winning author Jonathan Rose explores in tandem Churchilland#8217;s careers as statesman and author, revealing the profound influence of literature and theater on Churchilland#8217;s personal, carefully composed grand story and on the decisions he made throughout his political life.
and#160;
Rose provides in this expansive literary biography an analysis of Churchilland#8217;s writings and their reception (he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953 and was a best-selling author), and a chronicle of his dealings with publishers, editors, literary agents, and censors. The book also identifies an array of authors who shaped Churchilland#8217;s own writings and politics: George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, Margaret Mitchell, George Orwell, Oscar Wilde, and many more. Rose investigates the effect of Churchilland#8217;s passion for theater on his approach to reportage, memoirs, and historical works. Perhaps most remarkably, Rose reveals the unmistakable influence of Churchilland#8217;s reading on every important episode of his public life, including his championship of social reform, plans for the Gallipoli invasion, command during the Blitz, crusade for Zionism, and efforts to prevent a nuclear arms race. In a fascinating conclusion, Rose traces the significance of Churchilland#8217;s writings to later generations of politicians, among them President John F. Kennedy as he struggled to extricate the U.S. from the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Review
‘This is one of the most remarkable books ever written about Winston Churchill. It is clever, fluent and based on wide reading, in and out of the archives. It is original: no academic has studied the literary and theatrical Churchill in greater forensic detail than Jonathan Rose, who portrays him as “an artist who used politics as his creative medium, as other writers used paper.”.—Piers Brendon, Literary Review Piers Brendon
Review
and#8220;Roseand#8217;s swift, incisive narrative portrays Churchill as a brilliant, if flawed, manipulator of political theater.and#8221;and#8212;Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Review
and#8216;Jonathan Rose. . .has shown how Churchill excelled in the application of language to the exercise of power and concludes that he 'modelled his politics on literature.' The proof is abundant and well presented in this excellent, thorough and enjoyable biography that adds a fresh and fascinating dimension to a great statesman.and#8217;and#8212;Lawrence James, The Times
Review
and#8216;This is no incidental postscript to the hundreds of volumes already published about Churchill, but a painstaking study building a formidable caseandnbsp;for taking him seriously not just in political history but in literary history too. . .Rose made his reputation as the historian of the working-class autodidacts in Britain. Now he has consolidated it by writing about an upper-class autodidact, whose intellectual life he captures well.and#8217; and#8212;Peter Clark. The Financial Times
Review
“An interesting and at times surprising account of Churchill's tastes as a reader . . . [Rose] is a very good stylist. He is also formidably knowledgeable, and many of his nuggets will be new even to Churchill junkies.”—Ben Downing, Wall Street Journal Peter Clark - The Financial Times
Review
andldquo;A masterpiece . . . a more mentally nimble version of [Churchill] the man than any previous portrait . . . superb, revelatory . . . a bravura new take on the man and his life . . . nobody should miss it.andrdquo; andmdash;Steve Donoghue, Open Letters
Review
andldquo;Immensely enjoyable . . . marvelous . . . This gracefully written book is an original and textured study of Churchillandrsquo;s imagination.andrdquo; andmdash;Michael F. Bishop, Washington Post
Review
andldquo;The biographical inattention to [Churchillandrsquo;s] voluminous body of written work . . . has been a strange oversight. Now that wrong has been righted, in a single stroke and ably so, by Jonathan Roseandrsquo;s The Literary Churchill.andrdquo;andmdash;Anthony Paletta, Daily Beast
Review
andldquo;Well-researched and clearly informed by great admiration and attunement to its subject . . . [and] crammed with interesting facts.andrdquo; andmdash;Martin Rubin, Washington Times
Review
“Rose doesn’t miss a trick in this fascinating look into the literary mind of one of the men who made world history.”—Dave Wood, syndicated columnist (“Book Report”) Martin Rubin - Washington Times
Review
and#8216;[Rose] assembles a mass of fascinating information about Churchilland#8217;s writings, readings, and politicking, much of it until now available only in the archives at Churchill College.and#8217;and#8212;Cita Stelzer, TLS
Review
andldquo;Rose doesnandrsquo;t miss a trick in this fascinating look into the literary mind of one of the men who made world history.andrdquo;andmdash;Dave Wood, syndicated columnist (andldquo;Book Reportandrdquo;)
Review
and#39;One of the most remarkable books ever written about Winston Churchill.and#39;andmdash;Piers Brendon, Literary Review
Review
andldquo;A most wonderful book for Churchill admirers . . . fascinating . . . the book sparkles and is the best I have ever read on the man.andrdquo;andmdash;Tom Perkins, Wall Street Journal, andldquo;Books of the Yearandrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Rose has written a big, readable, informative, and convincing book.andrdquo;andmdash;William J. Scheick, English Literature in Transition
Review
andldquo;Very well written, filled with erudition, documentation, and insights.andrdquo;andmdash;Manfred Weidhorn, Finest Hour: The Journal of Winston Churchill
Synopsis
A transformative portrait of Churchill, whose loveand#160;of history, theater, and reading was inextricably linked to his life as a statesman
Synopsis
A transformative portrait of Churchill, whose love of history, theater, and reading was inextricably linked to his life as a statesman
This strikingly original book introduces a Winston Churchill we have not known before. Award-winning author Jonathan Rose explores in tandem Churchill s careers as statesman and author, revealing the profound influence of literature and theater on Churchill s personal, carefully composed grand story and on the decisions he made throughout his political life.
Rose provides in this expansive literary biography an analysis of Churchill s writings and their reception (he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953 and was a best-selling author), and a chronicle of his dealings with publishers, editors, literary agents, and censors. The book also identifies an array of authors who shaped Churchill s own writings and politics: George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, Margaret Mitchell, George Orwell, Oscar Wilde, and many more. Rose investigates the effect of Churchill s passion for theater on his approach to reportage, memoirs, and historical works. Perhaps most remarkably, Rose reveals the unmistakable influence of Churchill s reading on every important episode of his public life, including his championship of social reform, plans for the Gallipoli invasion, command during the Blitz, crusade for Zionism, and efforts to prevent a nuclear arms race. In a fascinating conclusion, Rose traces the significance of Churchill s writings to later generations of politicians, among them President John F. Kennedy as he struggled to extricate the U.S. from the Cuban Missile Crisis."
About the Author
Jonathan Rose is William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of History, Drew University. He was founding president of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing and is co-editor of the journal Book History. He lives in Morristown, NJ.