Labels

The Churchills: In Love and War

 

Summary (from the publisher): Mary S. Lovell brilliantly recounts the triumphant political and military campaigns, domestic tragedies, happy marriages, and disastrous unions throughout generations of Churchills.

The first Duke of Marlborough (1650–1722) was a soldier of such genius that a lavish palace, Blenheim, was built to honor his triumphs. Succeeding generations of Churchills sometimes achieved distinction but also included profligates and womanizers and were saddled with the ruinous upkeep of Blenheim. The Churchills were an extraordinary family, and they were connected with everyone who mattered in Britain. Winston Churchill—voted "the Greatest Briton" in a nationwide poll—dominates them all.

Review: In this family biography, Mary S. Lovell has provided a thorough overview of generations of the Churchill family, beginning in 1650 with the birth of the first Duke of Marlborough through the lives of Winston Churchill and his children. In a family tree filled with distinguished members connected to the most prominent of British society, Winston Churchill outshines them all. Accordingly, the bulk of this family biography is devoted to his lifetime and work.

This is the fourth biography by Mary S. Lovell I have read and I continue to be impressed by her ability to be thorough, informative, and well researched and yet supremely readable and entertaining at the same time. This biography was no different. For instance, Lovell provides plenty of context and detail about Churchill's career and political involvement without bogging the reader down with too much detailed minutiae. It's clear that the purpose of the book is to provide a joint family biography, including an overview of all the most prominent characters and not an absolutely exhaustive biography of each member, which I greatly appreciated. At the same time, despite this being the third biography I have read about the Churchill family, I still learned new details. For instance, a small but charming new detail I learned about Winston Churchill was his great devotion to a pet budgie named Toby. Lovell's overview of Consuelo Vanderbilt, who married Winston Churchill's cousin the Duke of Marlborough were also interesting to read about, as Consuelo is a fascinating figure in her own right. 

I also enjoyed the forthright nature of the discussion in this biography of Winston's relationship with his children. I have previously read the biography written by Winston's daughter Mary Soames that focuses on her mother and her parents' marriage and while wonderful, she was less than forthcoming when it came to detailed descriptions of her siblings' shortcomings or difficulties in familial relationships. While this is particularly understandable in relation to her brother Randolph, who had a stormy relationship with most of his family, I did enjoy that Mary S. Lovell provided more insight on Randolph and how he fit into the family context. 

I loved this biography. My only true complaint is I wish there had been room to provide yet more detail about other family members who take on more minor roles in the family saga. Yet at nearly 600 pages, Lovell obviously had to make decisions about how much to include. Overall a fascinating look at a well known family full of rich characters, fascinating stories, and roles that helped shape the course of history. 

Stars: 4

Related Titles: 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts