The splendid and the vile : a saga of Churchill, family, and defiance during the Blitz Cover Image

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The splendid and the vile : a saga of Churchill, family, and defiance during the Blitz / Erik Larson.

Larson, Erik, 1954- (author.).

Summary:

"A fresh and compelling portrait of Winston Churchill and London during the Blitz. On Winston Churchill's first day as prime minister, Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next twelve months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold the country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally--and willing to fight to the end. In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows, in cinematic detail, how Churchill taught the British people "the art of being fearless." It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it's also an intimate domestic drama set against the backdrop of Churchill's prime-ministerial country home, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and of course 10 Downing Street in London. Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports--some released only recently--Larson provides a new lens on London's darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his family: his wife, Clementine; their youngest daughter, Mary, who chafes against her parents' wartime protectiveness; their son, Randolph, and his beautiful, unhappy wife, Pamela; Pamela's illicit lover, a dashing American emissary; and the cadre of close advisers who comprised Churchill's "Secret Circle," including his lovestruck private secretary, John Colville; newspaper baron Lord Beaverbrook; and the Rasputin-like Frederick Lindemann. The Splendid and the Vile takes readers out of today's political dysfunction and back to a time of true leadership, when--in the face of unrelenting horror--Churchill's eloquence, courage, and perseverance bound a country, and a family, together."-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9780385348713
ISBN: 0385348711
Physical Description: xii, 585 pages : illustrations, map ; 25 cm
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York : Crown, an imprint of Random House, 2020.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 547-554) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Bleak expectations --Part 1. The rising threat, May-June, 1940. The coroner departs ; A night at the Savoy ; London and Washington ; Galvinized ; Moondread ; Goring ; Sufficient bliss ; The first bombs ; Mirror image ; Apparition --Pt. 2. A certain eventuality, June-August, 1940. The mystery of Swan Castle ; The ghosts of dull people ; Scarification ; "This queer and deadly game" ; London and Berlin ; The red warning ; "Tofrek!" ; Resignation No. 1 ; Force H ; Berlin ; Champagne and Garbo ; Have we sunk so low? ; What's in a name? ; The tyrant's appeal ; The prof's surprise ; White gloves at dawn ; Directive No. 17 ; "Oh, moon, lovely moon" --Pt. 3. Dread, August-September, 1940 . Eagle Day ; Perplexity ; Goring ; The bomber in the pasture ; Berlin ; Ol' Man River ; Berlin ; Teatime ; The lost bombers ; Berlin ; Ah, youth! ; Berlin and Washington ; He is coming ; Ominous doings ; Cap Blanc-Nez --Pt. 4. Blood and dust, September-December, 1940. On a quiet blue day ; Unpredictable magic ; Sleep ; Terms of imprisonment ; Berlin ; Fear ; Hess ; Sanctuary ; Berlin ; Target Churchill ; Spendthrift ; Washington and Berlin ; The frog speech ; The Ovipositor ; Our special source ; A Coventry farewell ; Distraction ; Special delivery ; Directive ; That silly old dollar sign ; A toad at the gate ; Weihnachten ; Rumors ; Christmas ; Egglayer ; Auld lang syne --Pt. 5. The Americans, January-March, 1941. Secrets ; The eleven-thirty special ; To Scapa Flow ; "Whither thou goest" ; Directive No. 23 ; The coming violence ; London, Washington, and Berlin ; Saturday night ; The tall man with a smile ; Snakehips ; Bayonet quadrille ; The gambler ; A treat for Clementine ; Men --Pt. 6. Love amid the flames, April-May, 1941. Grave news ; Scorn ; That night at the Dorchester ; The white cliffs ; Berlin ; This scowling valley ; Gloom ; Eric ; Le coeur dit ; Of panzers and pansies ; Le coeur encore ; Moonrise --Pt. 7. One year to the day, May 10, 1941. A beam named Anton ; Interloper ; The cruelest raid ; A surprise for Hitler ; Blood, sweat, and tears ; A weekend at Chequers -- Epilogue: As time went by.