Mary Churchill's War

The Wartime Diaries of Churchill's Youngest Daughter

Mary Churchill, Emma Soames

• Publisher: Pegasus Books
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN:
  9781639361625
• Topic: Sozialwissenschaften
• Subtopic: Historische Biographien

A unique and evocative portrait of World War II—and a charming coming-of-age story—from the private diaries of Winston Churchill's youngest daughter, Mary. "I am not a great or important personage, but this will be the diary of an ordinary person's life in war time. Though I may never live to read it again, perhaps it may not prove altogether uninteresting as a record of my life." In 1939, seventeen-year-old Mary found herself in an extraordinary position at an extraordinary time: it was the outbreak of World War II and her father, Winston Churchill, had been appointed First Lord of the Admiralty; within months he would become prime minister. The young Mary Churchill was uniquely placed to observe this remarkable historical moment, and her diaries—most of which have never been published until now—provide an immediate view of the great events of the war, as well as exchanges and intimate moments with her father.But these diaries also capture what it was like to be a young woman during wartime. An impulsive and spirited writer, full of coming-of-age self-consciousness and joie de vivre, Mary's diaries are untrammeled by self-censorship or nostalgia.From aid raid sirens at 10 Downing Street to seeing action with the women's branch of the British Army, from cocktail parties with presidents and royals to accompanying her father on key diplomatic trips, Mary's wartime diaries are full of color, rich in historical insight, and a charming and intimate portrait of life alongside Winston Churchill during a key moment of the twentieth century.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Dramatis Personae
• A Note on the Diaries
• 1939 Last Days of Childhood
• 1940 Plunged into Adulthood
• 1941 Gunner Girl
• 1942 Growing Pains
• 1943 New Roles
• 1944 Taking the Fight to the Enemy
• 1945 Liberation
• Epilogue
• Photographs
• Acknowledgements
• About the Authors
• A Glossary of Military Terms
• Index
• Illustration Credits
• Copyright