Young Titan: The Making of Winston Churchill by Michael Shelden

Author:Michael Shelden [Shelden, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography, Non-Fiction, History, Politics
ISBN: 9781471113246
Google: K5yYC44H65AC
Amazon: 1451609922
Goodreads: 18144116
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2013-02-28T11:00:00+00:00

XVIII

SOUND AND FURY

The tall, creamy stucco house at one end of Eccleston Square—Number 33—was in a quiet part of London in those days, a leafy enclave tucked between the river and exclusive Belgravia. The area was home to many large, prosperous families headed by established professionals or successful businessmen, who lived well but not luxuriously. They were proud of the long, elegant gardens that graced both Eccleston Square and nearby Warwick Square, each neatly tended behind high railings. Yet just up the road—only half a mile away—was busy Victoria Station, where great waves of London commuters came and went all week long. Peaceful, but close to the heart of Westminster, Eccleston Square was an ideal place for Winston Churchill to settle with his young wife and start a family.

They moved into Number 33 in May 1909, with “a perpetual stream of vans” unloading furniture and carpets—both old and new—on a Friday and Saturday. Jennie had picked out wallpaper for some of the rooms, Winston had supervised the installation of bookshelves to hold his growing library, and Clemmie had ordered an attractive blue carpet for the dining room. She was also busy looking for new things to brighten a room for the baby she was expecting in the summer. At thirty-four Winston’s next big adventure was fatherhood.1

With mischievous glee, Lloyd George spread the false story that the child exemption in the income tax (or the “Brat,” as he called it) was the only thing Churchill liked in the financial overhaul. “Winston,” he told friends, “is opposed to pretty nearly every item in the budget except the ‘Brat,’ and that was because he was expecting soon to be a father himself.”2

When Diana Churchill was born at Number 33 on July 11, her parents were overjoyed. Her hair was reddish like her father’s, which amused him. He was fascinated by her and was encouraged to see how healthy and strong she was. “Her little hands shut like a vice on one’s fingers,” he wrote.3

But, like many young families, the Churchills were sometimes overwhelmed by the various burdens of taking care of a new baby while establishing themselves in a new house. Clemmie’s pregnancy went well, but she was slow to recover her strength after giving birth, and spent many weeks recuperating in the countryside with her mother and family friends. When they were apart, husband and wife kept a steady stream of correspondence going, sharing news and endearments. They took a childish delight in calling each other by nicknames and in exchanging the private codes of affection, their relationship deepening into a comfortable intimacy with occasional flashes of a more intense passion.

Bachelor life had been lonelier than Winston had wanted to admit, and now he finally had a companion with whom he could share everything. They were a good match, and they were grateful for it. “I feel a vivid realisation of all you are to me,” Winston wrote, “& of the good and comforting influence you have brought into my life. It is a much better life now.

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