The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz

Written by:
Erik Larson
Narrated by:
John Lee , Erik Larson

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
407
Narrator
69
Release Date
February 2020
Duration
17 hours 50 minutes
Summary
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Devil in the White City and Dead Wake delivers a fresh and compelling portrait of Winston Churchill and London during the Blitz

NAMED ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2020 BY The Washington Post • HuffPost • The Seattle Times • Lit Hub • The Week • PopSugar

On Winston Churchill’s first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next twelve months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally—and willing to fight to the end.

In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows, in cinematic detail, how Churchill taught the British people “the art of being fearless.” It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it’s also an intimate domestic drama, set against the backdrop of Churchill’s prime-ministerial country home, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and of course 10 Downing Street in London. Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports—some released only recently—Larson provides a new lens on London’s darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his family: his wife, Clementine; their youngest daughter, Mary, who chafes against her parents’ wartime protectiveness; their son, Randolph, and his beautiful, unhappy wife, Pamela; Pamela’s illicit lover, a dashing American emissary; and the advisers in Churchill’s “Secret Circle,” to whom he turns in the hardest moments.
 
The Splendid and the Vile takes readers out of today’s political dysfunction and back to a time of true leadership, when, in the face of unrelenting horror, Churchill’s eloquence, courage, and perseverance bound a country, and a family, together.

This audiobook includes a recording of Winston Churchill's 1941 Christmas Eve speech.
Reviews
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Daryl C.

A terrific read that I listened to with my wife on a long road trip - and loved it again! I have read many accounts of this time, including John Colvill’s diary, and love to continually fill in gaps as well as developing a clearer picture. I am presently reading the war diary of Field Marshall Alan Brooke and if you are looking for another side of this time this is a wonderfully illuminating read!

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Benjamin S.

This popular book disappointed me because it was too much horrors if war and too little Churchill.

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Lee W.

I enjoyed the book, the reader was a bit too monotone for my liking.

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Anonymous

More detailed and personal Churchillian chronicle than anything I had read before on the subject and a compelling description of the frightful situation confronted by the targets of the Blitz. The narration was a bit flip and off-putting to my mind and somewhat distracting

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Todd N.

Great walk through history and a excellent peer into Churchill and his magnificent mind.

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Mark Trevithick

Initially I was put off by the title thinking that it was an attack against one of my heroes of the 20th Century. My brother encouraged me to read it, and I'm glad I did! It reveals the real Churchill, warts and all, and the battles he faced within his own government as well as dealing with Hitler and the Nazis. When discussing WWII, some bring up the fire-bombing of Dresden, and never bring up the fact that those were retaliatory raids, and that the Nazis were bombing London with incendiary munitions that would break up and cause multiple fires destroying homes, businesses, and striking fear in the populace of London. A terrible tactic regardless of who started it when used to strike at the people rather than military targets in my opinion, but I wasn't there. He remains one of my heroes.

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Jerbma

This is not the first of this author's books I've read. I keep picking them up because of his impressive feats of research. The subjects he chooses to write about, while not for everyone, are told in such a way as to make something that could otherwise be bland into a fascinating take. Knowing that the author is actually inferring very little, instead drawing on archival material pulled from what seems like the unlikeliest of places, makes his stories fascinating to me.

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Anonymous

Too much information for me. I guess I did t realize before purchasing the book.

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Anonymous

Fabulous. Brings a real "You are there" intensity and insight to the innermost aspects of Britain's defense against Germany in the early days of WWII--including Winston Churchill's US strategy and his relationship w/ FDR.

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LEW L.

Excellent excellent excellent

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Anonymous

Woild have liked to see some clear type of ending

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Vaughn F.

Great book. Meant to give it 5 stars. The narrator gets to be irritating as he does the character’s voices. Especially the females.

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Anonymous

The marvelous connections the author makes with private public with the splendid Churchill

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Matt M.

Great book. Fantastic narration that really captivated the reader. Definitely worth the time.

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Theodore E.

Really riveting. What a cast of characters! Churchill, Beaverbrook, Hopkins, Harriman and so on. I felt as though I was plunked right down in the action and terror of the Blitz, as well as being a fly on the wall of meetings, parties and meals at 10 Downing St, Chequers and the Cafe de Paris. I am glad the story had an end, but not the book describing it.

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Anonymous

My husband is a history buff, but I'm not so much. I loved the book! Because the author uses firsthand accounts from diaries and letters, the historical account offers well-rounded characters and it reads like fiction. Only better!

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Anonymous

The book revealed the life of Churchill, his family dynamics and the people whom with he surrounded himself . That piece of history from 1940-1941 was so interesting. At the same time, the listener was told the German government’s strategic thinking on England and the war. The narration was so easy to follow and voices were done so well.

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Anonymous

Riveting. More than a work of history -- and it is a fresh, well-researched study of Churchill and his world during the Blitz -- but also an inspiring book for our problematic times. Larson has given us a reminder of what one gifted leader who sees the broad picture can accomplish.

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Samuel H.

Winston Churchill has always been one of my favorite people from history. I have read a great deal by and about him, and this is one of the best. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Kenneth D.

Well written and well narrated. They brought in the extended Churchill family (including children that taxed their father). They also brought in many of leaders of The 1st year as PM. They even brought in what the Germans were thinking about Churchill during the Blitz. The narration was excellent. Made for a great Covid-19 listen.

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