Winston and Clementine: The Personal Letters of the Churchills - Hardcover

Winston Churchill; Clementine Churchill

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0395963192 ISBN 13: 9780395963197

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1999

Synopsis

Spanning the fifty-seven years of the Churchills' lives together, a collection of letters, edited by their only surviving child, offers an intimate portrait of a remarkable partnership and provides intriguing insights into the great social and political events of the twentieth century. 20,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author

Mary Soames, born in 1922, is the youngest and only surviving child of Winston and Clementine Churchill. During World War II she served in mixed antiaircraft batteries in England and northwestern Europe and accompanied her father as an aide on several wartime overseas journeys. In 1947 she married Captain Christopher Soames, later Lord Soames, the politician and diplomat, a vice president of the European Commission and the last governor of Southern Rhodesia. He died in 1987; they had five children. She is the author of Clementine Churchill: The Biography of a Marriage, which won the Wolfson Prize for history, A Churchill Family Album, The Profligate Duke, and Winston Churchill: His Life as a Painter.

Reviews

In a moving commemoration of the 125th anniversary of Winston Churchill's birth, Soames, his last surviving child (Family Album, 1982; Clementine Churchill, 1979), presents a large selection of the intimate letters of Churchill and his wife, Clementine, from 1909 to 1964. Soames presents the letters both chronologically and topically, starting with the courtship and marriage of the Churchills in 1909 and swiftly moving into Churchill's long career in Parliament and the government. Fortunately for Clementine, she reveals herself to be keenly interested in politics, which consumed her husband's life and occasioned so many separations between them. The early letters show the Churchills spontaneous reactions to the commencement of the First World War; the tragic Battle of Gallipoli (191516), for which Churchill bore responsibility and which ended his early career in the Cabinet; his life in France as a military officer; the Peace Conference at Versailles; and the Republican crisis in Ireland, during which Churchill was an IRA assassination target and negotiated with the Republican forces. Later letters record his reaction to his long exile from office, his travels abroad, the deepening political crisis in Europe, and his reentry into government with the commencement of WWII. A large number of letters date from the WWII period, as Churchill's leadership of the government necessitated prolonged absences from Clementine. While he lost his position as prime minister immediately after the war, he regained it briefly in the 1950s. While full of references to the world of public affairs, and the acts and personalities of great men, the letters also contain ample references to domestic matters and discuss the Churchills five children, their friends and relations, and family events. The long dialogue finally ends with Clementine's noting of Parliament's vote of thanks to Churchill in 1964. A uniquely intimate contribution to Churchilliana and an engrossing record of a remarkable marriage. (133 b&w photos; 6 maps) (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Soames, daughter of Winston and Clementine Churchill and author of other books on the family, has edited a collection of her parents' letters, some of them published here for the first time. From their marriage in 1908 until his death in 1965, the couple wrote letters, telegrams, and notes to each other on a regular basis. Interwoven with news of war and politics are the concerns about their children and family, endearments, chastisements, quarrels, and reconciliations that make up all marriages. Soames indicates which collection the letters are from, provides explanatory text and footnotes, and includes a biographical appendix with information on frequently mentioned people. She has also included some of the doodles and caricatures her parents often put in their letters. While not an essential purchase, this will be a welcome addition to public and academic libraries with strong Churchill collections.?Julie Still, Rutgers Univ., Camden, NJ
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One

COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE

From WSC


12 Bolton Street, W.

16 April 1908


I am back here for a night and a day in order to `kiss hands' on
appointment, & I seize this fleeting hour of leisure to write & tell
you how much I liked our long talk on Sunday, and what a comfort &
pleasure it was to me to meet a girl with so much intellectual quality
& such strong reserves of noble sentiment. I hope we shall
meet again and come to know each other better and like each other
more: and I see no reason why this should not be so. Time passes
quickly and the six weeks you are to be abroad will soon be over.
Write therefore and tell me what your plans are, how your days are
occupied, & above all when you are coming home. Meanwhile I will let
you know from time to time how I am getting on here in the storm; and
we may lay the foundations of a frank & clear-eyed friendship which I
certainly should value and cherish with many serious feelings of
respect.
So far the Manchester contest has been quite Napoleonic in its
openings & development. The three days I have been in the city have
produced a most happy change in the spirits of my friends, & not less
satisfactory adjustments of the various political forces. Jews, Irish,
Unionist Free Traders — the three doubtful elements — wh were all
alleged to be estranged, have come or are coming back into line, & I
have little fear of their not voting solidly for me on Friday.
The Socialist candidate is not making much progress as he
is deserted by the Labour party. He will however deprive me of a good
many votes, and this is the most disquieting feature in a situation
otherwise good and rapidly improving. Even with the risk that a
contrary result may be proclaimed before this letter overtakes you, I
must say I feel confident of a substantial success. Lady Dorothy'
arrived of her own accord — alone & independent. I teased her by
refusing to give a decided answer about women's votes, she left at
once for the North in a most obstinate temper. However on reading my
answers given in public, back she came and is fighting away like Diana
for the Greeks — a vy remarkable lady in every respect. But my eye
what a tyrant! Mind of marble — calm, unerring, precise, ruthless in
its logic devoid of flexibility — a thing to admire, but not to bruise
yourself against. Yet — a dear!
I never put too much trust in formulas & classifications. The
human mind & still more human speech are vy inadequate to do justice
to the infinite variety & complexity of phenomena. Women so rarely
realise this. When they begin to think they are so frightfully
cock-sure. Now nature never deals in black or white. It is always some
shade of grey. She never draws a line without smudging it. And there
must be a certain element of give & play even about the most profound
& assured convictions. But perhaps you will say this is only the
sophistry of a political opportunist. Will you? Well I shall not mind,
so that you say it in a nice letter to

Yours vy sincerely

Winston S. Churchill


From CSC


Nordrach-Colonie

Badischer Schwarzwald

Thursday 23 [April 1908]


Your letter found me here only yesterday — Seemingly, our maid at home
thought there was no hurry in forwarding letters — if it were not for
the excitement of reading about Manchester every day in the belated
newspapers I should feel as if I were living in another world than the
delightful one we inhabited together for a day at Salisbury Hall —
All day long here, people are struggling to get well — Many with
absolute success as in the case of Nellie whom Mother & I carry off to
Milan on the 30th. Most of the time there will have to be devoted to
getting clothes for Nellie who after 9 months here looks like a
suffragette after a hot scrimmage ...
I feel so envious of Dorothy Howard — It must be very exciting to
feel one has the power of influencing people, ever so little. One more
day & we shall know the result of the Election — I feel as much
excited as if I were a candidate.
Lately I have felt as if I wanted something to keep the mind about
which you say kind things to me, steady & balanced, so I studied every
word of Lord Cromer to the very end — But now I have begun your book —
so instinct with life & vitality — This letter will reach you after
the storm & stress of Manchester is over, otherwise I would not take
up a minute of your time —
I don't know if wishing & hoping can influence human affairs — if
so — poor Joynson-Hicks!


Yours very sincerely

Clementine Hozier

From WSC


Taplow

27 April [1908]


I was under the dull clouds of reaction on Saturday after all the
effort & excitement of that tiresome election, and my pen did not run
smoothly or easily. This morning however I am again buoyant, and
refreshed by a quiet & cheery Sunday here, I set myself to write you a
few lines.
It was a real pleasure to me to get your letter & telegram. I am
glad to think you watched the battle from afar with eye sympathetic to
my fortunes. It was a vy hard contest & but for those sulky Irish
Catholics changing sides at the last moment under priestly pressure,
the result would have been different. Now I have to begin all over
again — probably another long & exhausting election. Is it not
provoking!
The Liberal party is I must say a good party to fight with. Such
loyalty & kindness in misfortune I never saw. I might have won them a
great victory from the way they treat me. Eight or nine safe seats
have been placed at my disposal already. From my own point of view
indeed the election may well prove a blessing in disguise.
It is an awful hindrance to anyone in my position to be always forced
to fight for his life & always having to make his opinions on national
politics conform to local exigencies. If I had won Manchester now, I
should probably have lost it at the general election. Losing it now I
shall I hope get a seat wh will make me secure for many years. Still I
don't pretend not to be vexed. Defeat however consoled explained or
discounted is odious. Such howls of triumph from the Tory Press; such
grief of my poor friends & helpers; such injury to many important
affairs. There is only one salve — everything in human power was done.
We are having hateful weather here — blizzards, frost, raw wind —
perfectly vile to everyone: ... How I wish I could get away to
Florence & the sun. But here I am bound upon the wheel of things.
Lady Dorothy fought like Joan of Arc before Orleans. The dirtiest
slum, the roughest crowd, the ugliest street corner. She is a
wonderful woman — tireless, fearless, convinced, inflexible — yet
preserving all her womanliness.
How I should have liked you to have been there. You would have
enjoyed it I think. We had a jolly party and it was a whirling week.
Life for all its incompleteness is rather fun sometimes.
Write to me again — I am a solitary creature in the midst of
crowds.
Be kind to me.


Yours vy sincerely

W


From CSC


Hotel Como

Milan

Sunday 3 May [1908]


Your letter reached me just before we left Nordrach. Manchester was a
horrible disappointment. But I am not surprised that the Liberal Party
treated you as if you
had won them a victory, for I am sure they felt that no one but you
would have lost so few votes under the circumstances.

I hate to think of you having the fatigue and worry of another
election.

We have not had any newspapers for 2 days so I don't know what is
happening in Dundee — or anywhere else. I have lost the thread. I do
hope all is going as
you wish —

We have been here three days and after the bitter cold of
Nordrach, it feels like Heaven. As a matter of fact the town is modern
and not very interesting but the
sun makes everything beautiful and happy — Everywhere are the most
gorgeous azaleas in full bloom....

Mother has a mania for buying animals wherever she goes — It is
most inconvenient when travelling — In Paris she bought 2 Java
sparrows from a boy in the
street — It was only by saying that she must choose between me & the
sparrows that she consented to leave them behind — Yesterday she
wanted a little Italian
mongrel, called a `lupetto' — Fortunately the quarantine prevented
that — Today love-birds are the danger — I have not yet thought of a
good objection to them —

Thursday we go to Florence. I do hope you will have a record
majority —



Yours very sincerely

Clementine Hozier


After his rejection by the voters of North West Manchester, Winston
soon found himself another seat — Dundee, in Scotland — where in early
May he fought his
third by-election, and this time won by a sizeable majority. He was to
represent Dundee for fourteen years.

During June and July Winston and Clementine saw one another
several times, but since in those days unmarried girls did not dine or
lunch alone with men their
meetings were confined to social occasions. They both had pre-arranged
plans for the early part of the summer recess, but arranged to meet at
Salisbury Hall in the
middle of August. Meanwhile Clementine went to stay near Cowes, on the
Isle of Wight, where she was a somewhat distrait guest at various
balls and
entertainments. Before the marriage of his younger brother Jack
Churchill to Lady Gwendeline Berrie (always called `Goonie'), Winston
went to stay at
Burley-on-the-Hill at Oakham in Rutland, which had been rented by his
cousins Freddie Guest and Henry Guest. In the early hours of 6 August
a fire broke out after
everyone had retired to bed, and a whole wing of the house was burned
to the ground. Clementine, at Cowes, heard garbled reports about the
fire and was frantic
with worry until she read a full account of the event in The Times.
Greatly relieved at the knowledge that Winston was unharmed (although
he had played a leading
part in rescuing pictures and other valuables from the conflagration),
she cast discretion to the winds and telegraphed him her relief and
joy.


From WSC


Nuneham Park

Oxford

7 August 1908


This is only to be a line to tell you how much I am looking forward to
seeing you on Monday. But I have a change of plan to propose wh I hope
you will like. Let us
all go to Blenheim for Monday & Tuesday & then go on, on Wednesday to
Salisbury Hall. Sunny [9th Duke of Marlborough, WSC's cousin] wants us
all to come
& my mother will look after you — & so will I. I want so much to show
you that beautiful place & in its gardens we shall find lots of places
to talk in, & lots of things
to talk about. My mother will have already wired you & Sunny will do
so tomorrow. There will be no one else there except perhaps F. E.
Smith and his wife.

Jack has been married to-day — civilly. The service is tomorrow at
Oxford: but we all swooped down in motor-cars upon the little town of
Abingdon and did the
deed before the Registrar — for all the world as if it was an
elopement — with irate parents panting on the path. Afterwards we were
shown over the Town hall &
its relics & treasures — quite considerable for so small a place — &
then back go bride & bridegroom to their respective houses until
tomorrow. Both were
`entirely composed' & the business was despatched with a celerity and
ease that was almost appalling.

I was delighted to get your telegram this morning & to find that
you had not forgotten me. The fire was great fun & we all enjoyed it
thoroughly. It is a pity such
jolly entertainments are so costly. Alas for the archives. They soared
to glory in about ten minutes. The pictures were of small value, &
many, with all the tapestries &
about 1/2 the good furniture were saved. I must tell you all about it
when we meet. My eyes smart still & writing is tiring.

It is a strange thing to be locked in deadly grapple with that
cruel element. I had no conception — except from reading — of the
power & majesty of a great
conflagration. Whole rooms sprang into flame as by enchantment. Chairs
& tables burnt up like matches. Floors collapsed & ceilings crashed
down. The roof
descended in a molten shower. Every window spouted fire, & from the
centre of the house a volcano roared skyward in a whirlwind of
sparks.... It is only the
archives that must be mourned inconsolably. Poor Eddie Marsh lost
everything (including many of my papers) through not packing up when I
told him to. I saved all
my things by making Reynolds [his manservant] throw them out of the
window. It was lucky that the fire was discovered before we had all
gone to sleep — or more
life might have been lost — than one canary bird; & even as it was
there were moments of danger for some.

Your telegram to my mother has just arrived.

It is my fault that the plan has changed. I thought it would be so
nice to go to Blenheim, & I proposed it myself to Sunny. If you have a
serious reason for not
wishing to go there, I will telegraph to him in the morning & try to
stop arrangements; but I fear he will already have asked F. E. Smith &
his wife to balance us.

I do hope that your reluctance is only due to not quite
understanding the change & fancying there was to be a great function
or to very naturally requiring some
more formal invitation; & not to any dislike of Sunny or harsh
unfavourable judgement wh you have been led — perhaps on imperfect
information — to form of him.
He is my greatest friend, & it would pain me vy much — if that were
so. But I am sure it is not. Write & tell me all about it & about your
days at Cowes; & what
you have been thinking of; & whether you would have thought of me at
all — if the newspapers had not jogged your memory! You know the
answer that I want to
this.



Always yours

W.


From WSC


Nuneham

8 August [1908]


My dear — I have just come back from throwing an old slipper into
Jack's departing motor-car. It was a vy pretty wedding. No swarms of
London fly-catchers.
No one came who did not really care, & the only spectators were
tenants & countryfolk. Only children for bridesmaids & Yeomanry with
crossed swords for
pomp. The bride looked lovely & her father & mother were sad indeed to
lose her. But the triumphant Jack bore her off amid showers of rice &
pursuing cheers —
let us pray — to happiness & honour all her life.

I was vy glad to get your telegram this morning that you will come
to Blenheim on Monday. There will be no one at all except my mother &
the Smiths & Mr
Clark my secretary of the Board of Trade, & the duke and his little
son — just blossomed, or rather poured into Eton jackets. You need
have had no
apprehensions, for I am as wise as an owl when I try, & never take
steps of which I am not sure.

Here at Nuneham we have the debris of the wedding party & also of
Burley on the Hill. The Harcourts are most kind & hospitable and are
entertaining all sorts of
aunts, cousins & nieces collected for the event. Among the former —
Leonie — who brings me news from Cowes — of a young lady who made a
great impression
at a dance four nights ago on all beholders. I wonder who it could
have been!...

I shall go over to Blenheim quite early on Monday, & mind you come
by the first possible train. It is quite an easy journey from
Southampton to Oxford via
Didcot. I will meet you at Oxford in a motor-car if you will telegraph
to me here what time you arrive.

You have not distinguished yourself very much as a correspondent;
for no line of your handwriting has as yet glinted from among my
letter-bag. But I suppose you
were waiting for me — & I was hampered & hindered by Cruel
Catastrophe. Alack!

Sunny made a charming speech after the breakfast & showed all his
courtly address to the greatest advantage. I hope you will like my
friend, & fascinate him with
those strange mysterious eyes of yours, whose secret I have been
trying so hard to learn. His life has been grievously mutilated, there
are many to blame him — not
altogether without cause. But any clever woman whom he loved could
have acquired a supreme influence over his nature & he would have been
as happy as he now
is sad.

He is quite different from me, understanding women thoroughly,
getting into touch with them at once, & absolutely dependent upon
feminine influence of some
kind for the peace & harmony of his soul. Whereas I am stupid & clumsy
in that relation, and naturally quite self-reliant & self contained.
Yet by such vy different
paths we both arrive at loneliness!

I think you will be amused at Blenheim. It has many glories in the
fullness of summer. Pools of water, gardens of roses, a noble lake
shrouded by giant trees;
tapestries, pictures & monuments within. And on Wednesday we will
motor on to Salisbury Hall to humbler if homelier surroundings. For
the rest I will do what I can
to divert the hours, when better company fails. Till Monday then & may
the Fates play fair.



Yours always

W


From CSC


Nubia House

Cowes

Saturday night 8 [August 1908]


I was so glad to get your delightful letter this morning — I retired
with it into the garden, but for a long time before opening it I
amused myself by wondering what would be inside —
I have been able to think of nothing but the fire & the terrible
danger you have been in — The first news I heard was a rumour that the
house was burnt down — That was all — My dear my heart stood still
with terror —
All the same I did not need that horrible emotion to `jog my
memory' —
We all went to the ball the next night which I hated — I was
extremely odious to several young partners not on purpose, but because
they would interrupt my train of thought with irrelevant patter about
yachts, racing, the weather, Cowes gossip etc. — So I was obliged to
feign deafness —
Please do not think there is any real reason for my not at first
wanting to go to Blenheim. It was only a sudden access of shyness —
We all went in a yacht to-day to a lovely place called Bembridge
where most of the party played golf. I went on to Portsmouth to see
Bill (my brother) who is laid up in hospital with very bad rheumatism
— I am rather worried about him — He looked very pale & lonely....


Farewell till Monday — Yours Clementine H.


The house party which assembled at Blenheim on Monday 10 August was
composed of Winston and Lady Randolph Churchill, Clementine, the F. E.
Smiths and Winston's Private Secretary.
Winston made an assignation with Clementine to walk in the rose
garden the following morning after breakfast. He was (predictably)
late, and Clementine — (predictably) punctual — was considerably
ruffled by such cavalier behaviour; she seriously considered returning
to London. The Duke, interpreting her mood, sent a sharp note upstairs
to the dawdling Winston and, deploying all his charm, whirled
Clementine off in his buggy for a tour of the park. On their return to
the Palace, Winston was anxiously waiting.

That afternoon Winston and Clementine went for a walk and,
overtaken by a shower, took refuge in the little Temple of Diana
overlooking the Great Lake; there Winston proposed, and was accepted.
Clementine enjoined secrecy upon him until she had told her mother,
but as they returned to the house they met the Duke and other guests
on the lawn; unable to contain his joy, Winston blurted out their
happy news.
During the next few days the Blenheim maids and footmen were kept
busy bearing notes up and down the long wide corridors.


From WSC


Blenheim Palace

[12 August 1908]


My dearest,

How are you? I send you my best love to salute you: & I am getting
up at once in order if you like to walk to the rose garden after
breakfast & pick a bunch before you start. You will have to leave here
about 10.30 & I will come with you to Oxford.
Shall I not give you a letter for your Mother?



Always

W.


From CSC


Blenheim Palace

[12 August 1908]


My dearest

I am very well — Yes please give me a letter to take to Mother —
I should love to go to the rose garden.


Yours always

Clementine

After both visiting Lady Blanche at her home, 51 Abingdon Villas, in
Kensington, and obtaining her consent and blessing, all three
travelled back to Blenheim the same afternoon.

Once more love notes flew along the corridors.


From WSC


Blenheim Palace

[undated, probably 13 August 1908]


My dearest — I hope you have slept like a stone. I did not get to bed
till 1 o'clock; for Sunny kept me long in discussion about his affairs
wh go less prosperously than ours. But from 1 onwards I slept the
sleep of the just, & this morning am fresh & fit. Tell me how you feel
& whether you mean to get up for breakfast. The purpose of this letter
is also to send you heaps of love and four kisses

XXXX


from

Your always devoted

Winston


From CSC


Blenheim Palace

[undated, probably 13 August 1908]

My darling

I never slept so well & I had the most heavenly dreams
I am coming down presently — Mother is quite worn out as we have
been talking for the last 2 hours —
Je t'aime passionément — I feel less shy in French.



Clementine


The engagement was announced on Saturday 15 August, and Winston and
Clementine spent that weekend at Salisbury Hall, with Lady Randolph
Churchill.


From WSC


[Salisbury Hall]

[undated]

My beloved — Get up! I want so much to see you. Let us go for a walk
before lunch. I slept till 10.30! Several interesting letters have
arrived wh I will show you. The sun shines bright, & my heart throbs
to see you again -- sweet — precious —

Your devoted

W.


From CSC


Salisbury Hall

[undated]

Darling — I am surrounded by millions of letters which I am trying to
answer. I will be down in about an hour or a little more —
I love you


Clementine


From WSC


12 Bolton Street

[undated]


My dearest & most truly beloved —
I send you the King's telegram wh I have dutifully answered.
There are no words to convey to you the feelings of love & joy by
wh my being is possessed. May God who has given to me so much more
than I ever knew how to ask keep you safe & sound.

Your loving

Winston


From CSC


Batsford Park

Moreton-in-Marsh

[undated, probably August 1908]


My darling,
I do long for you so much —
I wonder how I have lived 23 years without you — Everything that
happened before about 5 months ago seems unreal — I had a very tedious
morning writing & writing till my fingers were cramped & inky — After
luncheon Uncle Berry [Mitford] said I needed some fresh air, so he
took me & Uncle Algernon in his motor to Stratford where there were
numberless Americans looking at Shakespeare's birthplace etc — I
fidgeted inwardly as I thought I should miss the post. However I am
just in time to catch it and to tell you that I love you, but how much
I shan't tell you — you must guess.
Uncle Algernon likes you but is vexed to find how easily I have
become a Liberal. He put me thro' a searching political catechism —
Goodbye my dearest one.



Yours always

Clementine


From CSC


51 Abingdon Villas

Kensington

[undated]

My Darling

Thinking about you has been the only pleasant thing today.
I have tried on so many garments (all of which I am told are
indispensable)....
My tailor told me he approved of you & had paid 10/6d to hear you
make a speech about the war at Birmingham — After that I felt I could
not bargain with him any more....
I said nothing pleasant happened to-day but I was wrong — Nellie
came home. We were very glad to see each other again.
Dearest I was so happy driving with you last night to the station
I long to see you again — Wednesday Thursday Friday 3 long days —
Goodbye my darling I feel there is no room for anyone but you in
my heart — you fill every corner —

Clementine

Copyright © 1998 The Lady Soames DBE. All rights reserved. Reprinted
by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company.

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0395963192
• ISBN 13: 9780395963197
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 702
• Editor: Mary Soames