What do you think?
Rate this book
The Churchill Girls: The Story of Winston and Clementine's Daughters
Bright, attractive and well-connected, in any other family the Churchill sisters – Diana, Sarah, Marigold and Mary – would have shone. But they were not in any other family, they were Churchills and neither they nor anyone else could ever forget it. From their father – ‘the greatest Englishman’ – to their brother, golden boy Randolph, to their eccentric and exciting cousins, the Mitford Girls, they were surrounded by a clan of larger-than-life characters which often saw them overlooked. Marigold died when she was very young but her three sisters lived lives full of passion, drama and tragedy …Diana, intense and diffident; Sarah, glamorous and stubborn; Mary, dependable yet determined – each so different but each imbued with a sense of responsibility toward each other and their country. Far from being cosseted debutantes, these women were eyewitnesses at some of the most important events in world history, including at the Second World War Conferences of Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam. Yet The Churchill Girls is not a story set on the battlefields or in Parliament; it is an intimate saga that sheds light on the complex dynamics of family set against the backdrop of the tumultuous twentieth century.
Accomplished biographer Rachel Trethewey draws on unpublished family letters from the Churchill archives to bring Winston and Clementine’s daughters out of the shadows and tell their remarkable stories for the first time.
Accomplished biographer Rachel Trethewey draws on unpublished family letters from the Churchill archives to bring Winston and Clementine’s daughters out of the shadows and tell their remarkable stories for the first time.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
321 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 4, 2021
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 11, 2023
A máxima que Winston Churchill sempre transmitiu aos seus filhos e ao povo inglês durante a guerra
“It’s a feeling that no matter grim things are, if you hold on, and do your best, all will be well in the end”.
É preciso aguentar firme !!!!
Este livro sobre as filhas de Winston e Clementine Churchill mostra-nos a intimidade dum grande homem e da sua família.
Diana, Sarah e Mary são descritas ao pormenor com base em diários , cartas e outras fontes.
A autora apresenta uma enorme bibliografia cheia de livros interessantes em que se baseou .
Uma lista imensa para saber mais e mais sobre esta família que mudou o destino de todos nós europeus .
Uma história da família Churchill que embora repita muito do que eu já tinha lido no livro sobre Clementine da Sónia Purnell, , acrescenta várias histórias interessantes que ocorreram nesta família tão especial.
Fiquei a saber que tratavam os animais como pessoas e que os Natais em Chartwell (a casa onde viveram) eram mágicos .
Fiquei a saber do apoio e ajuda que tanto Clementine como as filhas deram ao Pai durante o longo período da Grande Guerra e o importante que foram para ele com a sua fortaleza e descrição.
Uma época em que tudo era excessivo e em que as pessoas viviam segundo a máxima: “Live today, for tomorrow we die “ .
Fiquei a conhecer profundamente cada uma das meninas Churchill.
Nem todos os filhos de Churchill tiveram vidas completas e felizes . Como em todas as famílias houve muitas alegrias e muita tristeza .
“It’s a feeling that no matter grim things are, if you hold on, and do your best, all will be well in the end”.
É preciso aguentar firme !!!!
Este livro sobre as filhas de Winston e Clementine Churchill mostra-nos a intimidade dum grande homem e da sua família.
Diana, Sarah e Mary são descritas ao pormenor com base em diários , cartas e outras fontes.
A autora apresenta uma enorme bibliografia cheia de livros interessantes em que se baseou .
Uma lista imensa para saber mais e mais sobre esta família que mudou o destino de todos nós europeus .
Uma história da família Churchill que embora repita muito do que eu já tinha lido no livro sobre Clementine da Sónia Purnell, , acrescenta várias histórias interessantes que ocorreram nesta família tão especial.
Fiquei a saber que tratavam os animais como pessoas e que os Natais em Chartwell (a casa onde viveram) eram mágicos .
Fiquei a saber do apoio e ajuda que tanto Clementine como as filhas deram ao Pai durante o longo período da Grande Guerra e o importante que foram para ele com a sua fortaleza e descrição.
Uma época em que tudo era excessivo e em que as pessoas viviam segundo a máxima: “Live today, for tomorrow we die “ .
Fiquei a conhecer profundamente cada uma das meninas Churchill.
Nem todos os filhos de Churchill tiveram vidas completas e felizes . Como em todas as famílias houve muitas alegrias e muita tristeza .
February 3, 2022
I did not intend to finish this book tonight, but I just couldn’t put it down! I really enjoyed reading this and getting to know the three Churchill sisters. Diana, Sarah, and Mary were each remarkable in their own ways, and the author brought them to life amazingly well. I also loved getting to know Winston and Clementine more as parents. This was a devoted family that had some really tough times and some glorious times, both personally and through Winston’s amazing political career. Each daughter had a special relationship with Winston, and I just loved reading about that. I also loved that Winston-the-Victorian with his conservative views of women ended up with three daughters who were so competent, intense, lively, and complex.
Even reading the acknowledgements was fun. The author had access to an amazing amount of material, including personal interviews with Diana’s daughter Celia and Mary’s daughter Emma. Mary only died in 2014! Sarah was fun to read about, but I think I felt most attached to Mary and her level-headedness. I hope someone will or has written a biography of Mary because I will gladly read it. If you like history and want a light yet detailed and lively biography, this is a super choice.
Even reading the acknowledgements was fun. The author had access to an amazing amount of material, including personal interviews with Diana’s daughter Celia and Mary’s daughter Emma. Mary only died in 2014! Sarah was fun to read about, but I think I felt most attached to Mary and her level-headedness. I hope someone will or has written a biography of Mary because I will gladly read it. If you like history and want a light yet detailed and lively biography, this is a super choice.
May 12, 2023
Skaitėsi lengvai, tačiau parašyta sausai, tuščia emocijų. Nuslysta paviršium.
August 26, 2021
Movies and tv shows like “The Crown” have brought Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine to life. And remarkable, commendable and will-lived lives they were. Author Dr. Rachel Trethewey reveals the lives of the great statesman’s daughters in “The Churchill Sisters- The Extraordinary Lives of Winston and Clementine's Daughters.” This book is a warm and caring look at the daughters in this extraordinary family.
“If you hold on, and do your best, all will be well in the end.”
The Churchill children were Diana, Sarah, and Mary (daughter Marigold died as a small child) and a son, Randolph. They were all quite different in temperament, but all were united in the love of their family. Born during times with expectations that were more rigid than now, as children they all blossomed in the warm, creative and high-achieving Churchill family. Winston especially was a caring and loving father figure who nurtured each of his daughters.
There are three main parts to the book- the girls’ childhoods, the war years, life after the war. The sisters, who were not especially close to each other, or to their mother Clementine, had good relationships with their father. Of course, they had a ring-side seat to an astounding view of history during World War II. Author Dr. Trethewey writes in an interesting and open way; the boom is well-researched and also highly readable and enjoyable. The letters that the family members wrote are fascinating.
Sadly, Diana and Sarah had many troubles during their adult years. Mary seems to have had the most “normal” life and had a happy family life as well as an interesting public life. Many parts of the story made an impression on me, but one of the stories I loved the most was how Clementine and Mary selected the presentation of their family estate Chartwell, as it became a National Trust home.
There is a lengthy bibliography. I recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance review copy. This is my honest
“If you hold on, and do your best, all will be well in the end.”
The Churchill children were Diana, Sarah, and Mary (daughter Marigold died as a small child) and a son, Randolph. They were all quite different in temperament, but all were united in the love of their family. Born during times with expectations that were more rigid than now, as children they all blossomed in the warm, creative and high-achieving Churchill family. Winston especially was a caring and loving father figure who nurtured each of his daughters.
There are three main parts to the book- the girls’ childhoods, the war years, life after the war. The sisters, who were not especially close to each other, or to their mother Clementine, had good relationships with their father. Of course, they had a ring-side seat to an astounding view of history during World War II. Author Dr. Trethewey writes in an interesting and open way; the boom is well-researched and also highly readable and enjoyable. The letters that the family members wrote are fascinating.
Sadly, Diana and Sarah had many troubles during their adult years. Mary seems to have had the most “normal” life and had a happy family life as well as an interesting public life. Many parts of the story made an impression on me, but one of the stories I loved the most was how Clementine and Mary selected the presentation of their family estate Chartwell, as it became a National Trust home.
There is a lengthy bibliography. I recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance review copy. This is my honest
October 21, 2022
All of the biographies of Winston Churchill I have read contained very little on his family – so I really welcome this elegantly written and meticulously researched volume on the great man’s beautiful daughters – Diana, Sarah and Mary. There was of course a fourth daughter - Marigold – who died before her third birthday, a monumental tragedy that Winston and his wife Clementine never quite got over.
What is evident throughout Rachel Trethewey’s book is the remarkably strong bond which all of the girls maintained with their father. Clementine wasn’t too comfortable with very young children and was a somewhat distant figure until they grew older.
Winston adored them all from the word go, playing with them, laughing with them, travelling with them, enjoying their animals and offering counsel and compassion whenever they came to him with problems and anxieties. And most importantly, during such encounters his worldly wisdom and experienced judgment usually offered a resolution.
With a father as strong, powerful and famous as Winston Churchill, seeking his approval naturally became important to all three of his daughters. Their admiration for him was intense and throughout the war, they offered him constant support.
Like so many men of his generation, Winston believed that a woman’s place was in the home as a dutiful wife and mother. During the war his daughters changed that view forever. All three soon joined the forces – Sarah working on photo reconnaissance work and Diana as an officer in the Women’s Royal Naval Service. Mary joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service on anti aircraft batteries in London.
As the war progressed, their father had many health issues and his daughters nursed him through a lot of them. Being married to a global leader during a global conflict was not without its challenges, and Mrs Churchill needed frequent breaks from the pressures. On such occasions the girls stood in for their mother and accompanied Winston on his numerous overseas trips. They all witnessed some of the most dramatic happenings of the 20th century.
Mary accompanied him across the Atlantic to see President Roosevelt in 1941. Sarah was by his side at the historic meetings with Roosevelt and Stalin at Tehran and Yalta in 1944, and Mary at the Potsdam Conference at the end of the war in Europe in 1945.
Mental health problems loomed large in the lives of all three girls, and they affected their marriages as well as their careers. Their partners were not always to Winston’s liking. Sarah chose an Austrian Jewish comedian, Vic Oliver, who was never accepted by her father.
Ironically, Vic worked for several years on a BBC radio show called ‘Hi Gang!’ - one of many comedy programmes which kept up civilian morale in Britain during the war. As a formidable ‘morale builder’ himself, one would have thought he would have had some respect for his son in law.
Sarah had two failed marriages. She was a talented poet, artist and actress, and in 1951 she appeared in a Hollywood movie, ‘Royal Wedding’ with Fred Astaire – but her success was spoiled by her father’s ongoing denigration of show business as a career.
Her mental conflicts led to a drink problem and she was arrested for disorderly behaviour in both LA and London – where she ended up in Holloway jail.
Diana had a great talent and appetite for politics, but Churchill only saw his son Randolph as following in his footsteps – and in the event, he proved a disaster. Diana also had two indifferent marriages but eventually found fulfilment as a counseller with the Samaritans. However, she suffered with depression and ultimately died of an overdose.
The Churchills were a tight knit family and gave each other unfailing support throughout their dramatic, tumultuous and at times tragic lives. Their story should not be missed.
What is evident throughout Rachel Trethewey’s book is the remarkably strong bond which all of the girls maintained with their father. Clementine wasn’t too comfortable with very young children and was a somewhat distant figure until they grew older.
Winston adored them all from the word go, playing with them, laughing with them, travelling with them, enjoying their animals and offering counsel and compassion whenever they came to him with problems and anxieties. And most importantly, during such encounters his worldly wisdom and experienced judgment usually offered a resolution.
With a father as strong, powerful and famous as Winston Churchill, seeking his approval naturally became important to all three of his daughters. Their admiration for him was intense and throughout the war, they offered him constant support.
Like so many men of his generation, Winston believed that a woman’s place was in the home as a dutiful wife and mother. During the war his daughters changed that view forever. All three soon joined the forces – Sarah working on photo reconnaissance work and Diana as an officer in the Women’s Royal Naval Service. Mary joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service on anti aircraft batteries in London.
As the war progressed, their father had many health issues and his daughters nursed him through a lot of them. Being married to a global leader during a global conflict was not without its challenges, and Mrs Churchill needed frequent breaks from the pressures. On such occasions the girls stood in for their mother and accompanied Winston on his numerous overseas trips. They all witnessed some of the most dramatic happenings of the 20th century.
Mary accompanied him across the Atlantic to see President Roosevelt in 1941. Sarah was by his side at the historic meetings with Roosevelt and Stalin at Tehran and Yalta in 1944, and Mary at the Potsdam Conference at the end of the war in Europe in 1945.
Mental health problems loomed large in the lives of all three girls, and they affected their marriages as well as their careers. Their partners were not always to Winston’s liking. Sarah chose an Austrian Jewish comedian, Vic Oliver, who was never accepted by her father.
Ironically, Vic worked for several years on a BBC radio show called ‘Hi Gang!’ - one of many comedy programmes which kept up civilian morale in Britain during the war. As a formidable ‘morale builder’ himself, one would have thought he would have had some respect for his son in law.
Sarah had two failed marriages. She was a talented poet, artist and actress, and in 1951 she appeared in a Hollywood movie, ‘Royal Wedding’ with Fred Astaire – but her success was spoiled by her father’s ongoing denigration of show business as a career.
Her mental conflicts led to a drink problem and she was arrested for disorderly behaviour in both LA and London – where she ended up in Holloway jail.
Diana had a great talent and appetite for politics, but Churchill only saw his son Randolph as following in his footsteps – and in the event, he proved a disaster. Diana also had two indifferent marriages but eventually found fulfilment as a counseller with the Samaritans. However, she suffered with depression and ultimately died of an overdose.
The Churchills were a tight knit family and gave each other unfailing support throughout their dramatic, tumultuous and at times tragic lives. Their story should not be missed.
November 9, 2023
Buvo smalsu perskaityti. Patiko, nes sužinojau įvairios naujos informacijos. Nepatiko pasakojimo stilius (sausokas) ir faktų išdėstymo būdas (man trūko nuoseklumo).
* Kai kuriais atžvilgiais Winstonas pats buvo tarytum vaikas, todėl lengvai susitapatintavo su mažaisiais. Clementine buvo tikra priešingybė: rimta ir rafinuota, niekada nepajėgė suprasti, kas dedasi vaiko galvoje. Skirtingesnių nei jųdviejų auklėjimo būdų nė su žiburiu nesurastum. Ji su vaikais elgėsi pagal etiketą, jis - spontaniškai. Clementine buvo griežta, nustatydavo taisykles, o Winstonas buvo jas laužantis linksmuolis. Jis norėjo būti dievinamas, ji - priešingai, ir galiausiai jų norai virto tikrove. Vaikai su tėvu užmezgė glaudžius santykius, o motiną laikė deive ant pjedestalo.
* Clementine vaikus vertino kritiškai, o Winstonas visuomet įžvelgė juose tai, kas geriausia.
* „Vaikai yra tarsi gyvos bombos. Niekada nežinai, kada jos sprogs ir kur nublokš sprogimo banga.“ (iš pokalbio, Stanley Baldwin)
* Jų pozityvus indėlis stengiantis laimėti karą padėjo pakeisti tėvo požiūrį į moteris. Jis gimė karalienės Viktorijos laikais, užaugo mokomas tikėti, kad vyrų ir moterų gebėjimai skiriasi ir nė viena lytis neturėtų savintis kitos vaidmens.
* Vienam pašnekovui ij [Sara] pasakojo, kad tėvas geba vaikams įkvėpti tą patį jausmą, kurį vykstant karui įkvėpdavo žmonėms. "Tai pojūtis, kad jei tvirtai laikysies ir iš visų jėgų stengsiesi, kad ir kaip būtų niūru, galiausiai viskas baigsis gerai."
* "Ji yra Winstono Churchillio duktė. Kaip ir jis, ji gali pralaimėti keletą mūtių, bet karą laimės."
* Mary su Diana lankė gydomą seserį, o Winstonas jai tvirtino: "Visi mes dalyvaujame šiame nuotykyje kartu su tavimi."
* Kai kuriais atžvilgiais Winstonas pats buvo tarytum vaikas, todėl lengvai susitapatintavo su mažaisiais. Clementine buvo tikra priešingybė: rimta ir rafinuota, niekada nepajėgė suprasti, kas dedasi vaiko galvoje. Skirtingesnių nei jųdviejų auklėjimo būdų nė su žiburiu nesurastum. Ji su vaikais elgėsi pagal etiketą, jis - spontaniškai. Clementine buvo griežta, nustatydavo taisykles, o Winstonas buvo jas laužantis linksmuolis. Jis norėjo būti dievinamas, ji - priešingai, ir galiausiai jų norai virto tikrove. Vaikai su tėvu užmezgė glaudžius santykius, o motiną laikė deive ant pjedestalo.
* Clementine vaikus vertino kritiškai, o Winstonas visuomet įžvelgė juose tai, kas geriausia.
* „Vaikai yra tarsi gyvos bombos. Niekada nežinai, kada jos sprogs ir kur nublokš sprogimo banga.“ (iš pokalbio, Stanley Baldwin)
* Jų pozityvus indėlis stengiantis laimėti karą padėjo pakeisti tėvo požiūrį į moteris. Jis gimė karalienės Viktorijos laikais, užaugo mokomas tikėti, kad vyrų ir moterų gebėjimai skiriasi ir nė viena lytis neturėtų savintis kitos vaidmens.
* Vienam pašnekovui ij [Sara] pasakojo, kad tėvas geba vaikams įkvėpti tą patį jausmą, kurį vykstant karui įkvėpdavo žmonėms. "Tai pojūtis, kad jei tvirtai laikysies ir iš visų jėgų stengsiesi, kad ir kaip būtų niūru, galiausiai viskas baigsis gerai."
* "Ji yra Winstono Churchillio duktė. Kaip ir jis, ji gali pralaimėti keletą mūtių, bet karą laimės."
* Mary su Diana lankė gydomą seserį, o Winstonas jai tvirtino: "Visi mes dalyvaujame šiame nuotykyje kartu su tavimi."
March 26, 2023
Mention the name "Churchill" and it is the great statesman who immediately comes to mind. Much less often do you think of Winston as a family man. Yet he had five children - four girls and one boy. This is a fascinating biography of his four daughters.
One (Marigold) died in childhood but other three (Diana, Sarah and Mary) lived into an eventful, and often tragic, adulthood through the Second World War and its socially tumultuous aftermath.
Yet amid the tribulations, the family remained a close-knit constant in all their lives, providing the support and intellectual stimulus they needed.
Though younger readers may find the family environment distant and lacking in the warmth and physical contact expected today, it must be remembered that this was a family based on Victorian/Edwardian values (Clementine Churchill said of herself, "I am an Edwardian") and there was nothing unusual in the children's upbringing at the time.
A fascinating insight into the lives, loves, triumphs and failures of four girls bearing one of the most famous names of the 20th century.
One (Marigold) died in childhood but other three (Diana, Sarah and Mary) lived into an eventful, and often tragic, adulthood through the Second World War and its socially tumultuous aftermath.
Yet amid the tribulations, the family remained a close-knit constant in all their lives, providing the support and intellectual stimulus they needed.
Though younger readers may find the family environment distant and lacking in the warmth and physical contact expected today, it must be remembered that this was a family based on Victorian/Edwardian values (Clementine Churchill said of herself, "I am an Edwardian") and there was nothing unusual in the children's upbringing at the time.
A fascinating insight into the lives, loves, triumphs and failures of four girls bearing one of the most famous names of the 20th century.
May 19, 2023
Man labai patiko! Trys nuostabių moterų gyvenimai. Tokie žemiški ir nepaprasti. Kokia įtampa augti visa laiką vertinamai kaip Churchllio dukteriai ir kaip nuostabu turėti tokį tėtį! Žavėjo šeimos stiprybė. Tik vis kirbėjo mintis, jog kažkas nutylėta. Nepaisant to į istoriją buvau pasinėrusi visa širdimi ir niekaip negalėjau atsitraukti. O kai pagalvoji kiek šios trys moterys galėjo pasiekti šiais laikais! Nuostabu 🙂
November 29, 2021
This book utilises extracts from correspondence to good effect.Highlighting the emotions and tensions within the family. The book emphasizes the essential sadness of the lives of two of the sisters and their brother. Was it in their genes of parental behavior?
April 26, 2023
Istorija labai įdomi, mergaičių likimai bei santykiai su tėvais stebinantys, tačiau knygą sugadino arba rašymo stilius arba vertimas.
Labai nuobodžiai, sudėtingai išdėstytos mintys, norėta pasakyti labai daug, tačiau neatskleista tikroji esmė. Man pritrūko tikro jausmo.
Labai nuobodžiai, sudėtingai išdėstytos mintys, norėta pasakyti labai daug, tačiau neatskleista tikroji esmė. Man pritrūko tikro jausmo.
August 19, 2023
Labai norėjau perskaityti šią knygą, tai perskaičiau. Seserystės tema puiki, bet parašyta tikrai sausokai. Geriausia dalis kai įvykiai sukosi apie II-ąjį Pasaulinį karą. Buvo įdomu sužinoti kuo visa šeima prisidėjo.
August 5, 2021
3.5/5 An interesting and well told story of the Churchill girls
June 6, 2022
Just a wonderful book. So much attention to detail and written with honesty and yet with respect.
September 16, 2022
An interesting look into the lives of Churchill’s daughters. Detailed, without being heavy. What sad lives two of them had.
December 29, 2023
God what tragic lives! Interesting read about a family I would've never known anything about.
May 6, 2024
Enjoyed this book about Churchill's daughters. I was inspired to read it after a visit to The Cabinet War Rooms. Up until that point I hadn't known much about the personal lives of the family.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews