Churchill's Britain

More books have been written about Winston Churchill than any modern historical figure, but Peter Clark’s Churchill’s Britain does something quite different. It takes the reader the length and breadth of Britain and Ireland to lesser-known places associated with Churchill’s life. Some are familiar – Blenheim Palace, Chartwell, the Cabinet War Rooms – but we also see his schools, far-flung parliamentary constituencies in Dundee and Epping, the sites of famous speeches, the place he started to paint, the shop he bought his cigars, and the final resting places of his family and close friends. We read about these places in his own words alongside Clark’s insightful analysis and, by visiting sites that made important but less-celebrated contributions to the story of Churchill’s life, we come closer to a full picture. Clark takes us from the site of his father’s marriage proposal to his American future wife on the Isle of Wight to his grave in a country churchyard in Oxfordshire.

Each of the eight regions of the United Kingdom is introduced with a map, and the entries cross-referenced. It can be dipped into, consulted by the traveller, or read straight through. However used, Churchill’s Britain provides fascinating and fresh insights into this extraordinary man.

Autorentext

Peter Clark is a writer, translator, and cultural consultant specializing in the Middle East. His many books include Istanbul: A Cultural History, Marmaduke Pickthall: British Muslim, and Dickens's London.

Klappentext

Clark takes us on a geographical journey through Churchill's life, following his footsteps through Britain and Ireland. More than half a century after his death, Winston Churchill, the most significant British statesman of the twentieth century, continues to intrigue us. Peter Clark's book, however, is not merely another Churchill biography. Churchill's Britain takes us on a geographical journey through Churchill's life, leading us in Churchill's footsteps through locations in Britain and Ireland that are tied to key aspects of his biography. Some are familiar-Blenheim Palace, where he was born; Chartwell, his beloved house in the country; and the Cabinet War Rooms, where he planned the campaigns of World War II. But we also are taken to his schools, his parliamentary constituencies, locations of famous speeches, the place where he started to paint, the tobacco shop where he bought his cigars, and the graves of his family and close friends. Clark brings us close to the statesman Churchill by visiting sites that were important to the story of his long life, from the site where his father proposed to his American mother on the Isle of Wight to his grave in a country churchyard in Oxfordshire. Designed as a gazetteer with helpful regional maps, Churchill's Britain can be dipped into, consulted by the traveler on a Churchill tour of Britain, or read straight through--and no matter how it's read, it will deliver fresh insights into this extraordinary man.

Zusammenfassung
The book takes the reader the length and breadth of Britain and Ireland to lesser-known places associated with Churchill's life.