Churchill's Hour: A Novel of Defiance - Softcover

Dobbs, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1402213921 ISBN 13: 9781402213922

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark, 2008

Synopsis

From Michael Dobbs, author of the book that inspired the smash hit Netflix series House of Cards, Churchill's Hour is a stunning novel that brings Prime Minister Winston Churchill to life during the midst of WWII.

It is 1941, a year of desperation for England as it is battered by the war. Churchill has only one hope, that the U.S. will come to his country's aid, but Roosevelt is unwilling to do so because America is wedded to isolationism.

The political difficulties Churchill faces are compounded by a very personal dilemma. Pamela, the wife of his dissolute son, Randolph, has fallen in love with FDR's special envoy to England, Averill Harriman. With England threatened by a German invasion and a desperate Russia devastated by the advancing Nazi onslaught, Churchill must convince America that his cause is theirs. The secret of how he does so is so damning he will take the knowledge to his grave. Following his acclaimed Churchill novels Never Surrender and Churchill's Triumph, Dobbs' powerful reimagining makes England's feisty prime minister jump off the page.

Includes bonus reading group guide.

Praise for Michael Dobbs, bestselling author of House of Cards, the book that inspired the Netflix series:

"Churchill as nature intended: Dobbs captures his famous subject with artistry. With every stroke of his brush, he etches the character deeper into the memory. It is beautifully done."―Sunday Telegraph

"Riveting and controversial... Dobbs has the gift of taking you inside his subject's head."―Glasgow Evening Times

"Michael Dobbs has always had an uncanny feel for current affairs... This is a typically masterful page-turner."―Hampstead and Highgate Express

"Intriguing political drama from a master of the genre."―Irish Independent

"An insightful look back in time - Four Stars."―Sunday Express

 

About this title

About the Author

Michael Dobbs is also Lord Dobbs of Wylye, a member of the British House of Lords. He is Britain's leading political novelist and has been a senior adviser to Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher, John Major and David Cameron. His bestselling books include House of Cards, which was made into an award winning TV series in the UK and is currently being remade into a major US television series by Kevin Spacey and the director David Fincher. Read more on his website - www.michaeldobbs.com.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The bombers came early that evening. The warning sirens heralded a night of relentless torment, unusual even by the standards of Londoners. Winant, the American Ambassador, was with Churchill in the Cabinet Room of Number Ten. Both men tried to ignore the growing signs of advancing chaos, but eventually a great sigh escaped from Churchill.

"We must go. If I stay, others must stay. And I have promised Mrs. Churchill."

They both placed helmets on their heads and made their way out of the front door of the soot-streaked building, past tangles of barbed wire and sandbag pillboxes, until they came to the doorway that led to the underground complex of the Cabinet War Rooms. Here, buried beneath a three-foot thick concrete slab that had been reinforced with steel rods and tram tracks, the outside world ceased to exist. The air tasted of oil, the artificial light lent skin a pale and corpse-like hue, the noise of the ventilation system was constant and in the corner of the eye there always seemed to be the scurrying of rats.

"Forgive me, Gil, but I am forced to involve you in a childish deception. In order to calm her, I was forced to promise Mrs. Churchill that I would retire here as soon as the bombing started. I have done so. The bargain is honored, my word is redeemed." He forced himself to his feet. "And now we can go upstairs.

They emerged onto the roof of the Air Ministry. An observation post had been built out of sandbags and here they took shelter, gazing in awe at the power of the events unfolding around them.

Great pillars of fire stretched up from the searchlights, punching holes in the roof of the night sky. In the distance a single glowing ball was trailing smoke across the horizon, like a comet come to earth. Winant barely had time to wonder whether the crew had made it out before his eye was dragged away by the sights of other men dying out there, and women and children, too.

The American was watching London being tortured to death. And he knew this had happened most nights for months.

Churchill said something, but Winant couldn't hear; he moved closer. He could see tears trickling down his cheeks. Then he made out the words.

"When will it all end?"

About this edition

• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1402213921
• ISBN 13: 9781402213922
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 343