Clementine Churchill: A Life in Pictures
From the publisher:
Review:
Clementine Churchill: A Life in Pictures is an illustrated biography about Mrs. Winston Churchill. This is an abridged version of Sonia Purnell’s biography of Mrs. Churchill, supplemented with many fascinating photos. However, it never feels as though anything is missing. The subject of this story dealt with many difficult challenges, yet maintained her strength and dignity, and this is very apparent in the photos. The quality of many of the photos is quite exceptional as well — you rather feel you are looking at an art book, not just a biography.
The biographer credits Clementine with supporting her famous husband so that he could live the extraordinary life of service that he did. In the meantime, she also devoted herself to her country as well as raised a family. Her role in Churchill’s life has gone largely unnoticed, but it seems she is finally taking her place in history.
“Not only did they weather repeated public and personal humiliation together, they overcame the bitterest of personal tragedies, and survived the all but intolerable strains of being at the center of two world wars. … The question is not simply what did she do for him, but also what could he have done without her?”
I knew, in a general way, about Winston Churchill’s life, but this biography about Clementine fills in many of the gaps in my knowledge. And actually, it was quite interesting reading. The personal life of the Churchills was filled with a surprising amount of drama and scandal. In addition, they worked with and knew so many powerful people from the time period. I particularly liked the chapters about Clementine’s acquaintance with Eleanor Roosevelt.
“The case can be made that no other premier’s wife, in a democratic country at least, has played such a pivotal role in her husband’s government — arguably greater during the Second World War than the greatest of American First Ladies, Clementine’s direct contemporary, Eleanor Roosevelt.”
The pictures bring this incredible woman, and the trying times she lived in, to life. Many of the photos are un-posed and Clementine is looking off camera, smiling at other people. Even in photos, one gets the sense of how much of this woman’s life was lived in the public eye.
Though her contributions were perhaps unrecognized during her lifetime, Clementine was appreciated by her husband. Take this note he wrote to her on their fortieth wedding anniversary:
“I send this token, but how little can it express my gratitude to you for making my life & any work I have done possible.”
She is certainly a woman who deserves to be remembered.
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