Mr Churchill's Profession

In 1953, Winston Churchill received the Nobel Prize for Literature. In fact, Churchill was a professional writer before he was a politician, and published a stream of books and articles over the course of two intertwined careers. Now historian Peter Clarke traces the writing of the magisterial work that occupied Churchill for a quarter century, his four-volume History of the English-Speaking Peoples. As an author, Churchill faced woes familiar to many others; chronically short of funds, late on deadlines, scrambling to sell new projects or cajoling his publishers for more advance money. He signed a contract for the English-Speaking project in 1932, a time when his political career seemed over. The magnum opus was to be delivered in 1939, but in that year, history overtook history-writing. When the Nazis swept across Europe, Churchill was summoned from political exile to become Prime Minister. The English-Speaking Peoples would have to wait. The book would indeed be written and become a bestseller, after Churchill left public life. But even before he took office, the massive project was shaping his worldview, his speeches and his leadership. In these pages, Peter Clarke follows Churchill's monumental quest to chronicle the English-Speaking Peoples - a quest that helped to define the enduring 'special relationship' between Britain and America. In the process, Clarke gives us not just an untold chapter in literary history, but a fresh perspective on this iconic figure: a life of Churchill the author.

ISBN 1408818876   DEWEY edition DC23 ISBN13 9781408818879 (What's this?)   Pages 368 Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC   Published in London Imprint Bloomsbury Publishing PLC   Height (mm) 234 Format Hardback   Width (mm) 153 Publication date 05 Jul 2012   Academic level General DEWEY 941.084092

Clarke gives us the fullest account yet of Churchill's hair-raising attitude towards money ... A scholarly gem: polished and sparkling and a lasting contribution to our understanding of Churchill The Literary Review Engaging ... a good book about the literary work that provides its most powerful emotional underpinning Financial Times Brilliant ... Mr Churchill's Profession is a pleasure in itself Times Literary Supplement Fascinating, erudite and witty Guardian This book has many virtues. It ranges widely, draws on great erudition and is often written with panache Independent Of books about Winston Churchill there is no end ... Newcomers to this field need either to bring with them a reputation already made or else to happen upon a theme that has so far escaped notice. Peter Clarke scores under both headings New Statesman Pleasing Max Hastings, Sunday Times It is a tribute to his protean personality, and to Clarke's diligent scholarship and elegant narration, that every aspect of his [Churchill's] life remains eternally fascinating Sunday Telegraph Well-researched and interesting ... One is left with a picture of a brilliant maverick who would not have been out of place at the court of the first Queen Elizabeth Wiltshire Society

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Version	Price	Published	Edition
Paperback	£9.99	2013