Churchill’s Citadel, Chartwell and the Gatherings Before the Storm by Katherine Carter

Do we really need another Winston Churchill book? Probably not, but author Katherine Carter, curator at Chartwell, takes a fresh approach to Churchill’s well documented “wilderness years.” 

Although out of government for the decade leading up to WWII, Churchill was never out of touch, as he entertained often and strategically at his country house, Chartwell. Carter depicts his networking and information gathering through the lens of Chartwell’s visitors’ book. Each chapter (loosely) highlights a well-known visitor, starting with Albert Einstein in 1933, by which time Englishmen and Europeans alike knew that if you were alarmed about Hitler, Chartwell was where you could be heard.

The book is certainly informative, but occasionally it reads like an appointment book, and a very tidy one at that; no personal drama here.

Fortunately, there are a zillion Churchill books that are more readable. A few of my favs:

• The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
• Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill by Sonia Purnell
• Young Titan: The Making of Winston Churchill by Michael Shelden
• Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape and the Making of Winston Churchill by Candice Millard
• Churchill, Walking with Destiny by Andrew Roberts (not lively, but comprehensive!)
• The Churchills in Love and War by Mary S. Lovell
• The Churchill Sisters by Rachel Trethewey