Churchill Remembered

Nov 25, 2024 12:47 PM

Author:Mark Jones,Winston Churchill

‘We Churchills die at forty,’ said Winston in 1908, ‘and I want to put something more on the slate before then.’ By the time he died in 1965, the slate was full. From his earliest days Churchill was an ambitious character, eager for action. He achieved fame and popularity through his dispatches from the Boer War, and in 1900 was elected MP for Oldham. Until the outbreak of war in 1939 Churchill was loved and loathed in equal measure. Critics and supporters alike recognised his vision, but often questioned his judgement. In the thirties, his out-of-touch views on subjects such as Indian nationalism meant that his warnings on German militarism were not taken seriously. On the day Churchill took office as Prime Minister, Hitler invaded the Low Countries; by mid-June France had fallen. A lesser man would have been overwhelmed. Even his opponents do not doubt his greatness as a leader during the Second World War. But the 1945 election brought a shock defeat. Despite this setback, in 1951 at the age of 77 he returned to serve a second term as Prime Minister. 'Churchill Remembered' draws on a wealth of archive broadcasts by, among others, Robert Boothby, Violet Bonham Carter, Nancy Astor, Oswald Mosley and Churchill himself, and encompasses the whole of his extraordinary life.

Reviews

Simon Callow is to be commended for Hello Americans, as it is not only the best biography of Welles that we can possibly have, it is also one of the best biographies in any field I've read in years

—— Sunday Express , Roger Lewis

The research is breathtaking. The book is bursting with details, references and anecdotes

—— James Christopher , The Times

Hello Americans is full of witty asides...As a biographer, Callow is a match for his subject in terms of showmanship, but he has gifts of analysis that eluded Welles... enchanting

—— Christopher Silvester , Sunday Times

There is here some of the most vivid and instructive writing on the craft of movie and stage acting I've ever read

—— Philip French , Observer

This is a bitter-sweet book: we say goodbye to the very best of company but we also look forward to Callow bringing that company back to life in his third volume

—— Tom Dewe Matthews , Independent on Sunday

Callow's precise prose and sober judgement make this second volume of biography one to be cherished and leaves one eagerly anticipating volume three

—— Michael Arditti , Daily Mail

Callow's riveting and superlative biography satisfies at every level, and I for one cannot wait for the next volume

—— Frank McLynn , Literary Review

A vivid, sympathetic account... provides a definitive explanation of Welles's ultimate, lingering downfall

—— Financial Times

I am already looking forward to [the third volume] such is Callow's sympathetic absorption in the mass of material, which he handles with a light and ironic touch, that I found myself utterly hooked... As an actor himself Callow writes illuminatingly about Welles's performances

—— Mail on Sunday

Callow's enterprise is one of the rarest in publishing. It leaves the reader dry-mouthed with anticipation for his final, third volume

—— Alan Warner , Guardian

The only biog really worth it's salt this year...reliably entertaining, wise and sane

—— Catherine Shoard , Evening Standard

Welles’s packed schedule is rifled through with chatty elegance

—— Catherine Shoard , Sunday Telegraph

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