Churchill's Citadel - Chartwell and the Gatherings before the Storm

As a lifelong admirer of Winston Churchill and a devourer of films and biographies about the great man, I had awaited Katherine Carter's book with keen anticipation. I was not disappointed.

As curator of Chartwell for more than a decade, Carter had access to its astonishing archive. She has used this to great effect with pains-taking care of the detail. There is no broad brush of the biographer, nor the  preconceptions of a novelist. The archive is presented as an orderly account of tumultuous years. 

For me there were delightful surprises: time Churchill spent with Albert Einstein and TE Lawrence as well as the more prominent members of his circle. The American ambassador Joe Kennedy's relationship with the English is unpicked, as are those less well known with French, Czech, Russian and German opposition politicians. Helpful light is shed on the ambitions of Japan and its aggression toward China. 

With all this material, one might have expected a slow, rather tortuous read. Instead, Carter communicates clearly the changes in pace as crises are met. The opposition to Churchill is keenly felt, and even more so the impact this has on the man. Clementine is there in support, but as much the youngest daughter, Mary. 

This is a book that will inform and delight. It will take its rightful place in the Churchill canon.

Her Secret Service by Claire Hubbard-Hall

I first heard about this book when I knew Claire at Bishop Grossteste University in Lincoln in her capacity as secretary of the City of Lincoln branch of the Historical Association; she had kindly invited me to speak on a couple of occasions about my books on army supply. So I wanted to read what she was writing.

What I found was the product of a great deal of painstaking research, perhaps echoing the painstaking work of those about whom she wrote. It made me sit up and realise just what a professional historian can do; I am but an amateur, albeit an enthusiastic one!

The end result impacts in a number of ways.

For a lover of James Bond, Claire is generous with her references to the people who probably inspired his characters. Having enjoyed Helen Fry's Spymaster, I found myself back in that shadowy world. 

Claire, though, has done much more. She has given long overdue acknowledgement to the women who gave so much in the secret service of their country. She has named the glass ceilings imposed by men which denied the country the service of these women at more senior levels. More generally she has described the way women were brought into and then thrown out of the workplace in time of war. 

Perhaps the greatest credit is the way Claire illustrated the painstaking work done by conscientious women, without which the services would have been impotent. Secret service is about information, not only how it is collected but also about how it is stored, verified, safeguarded and accessed. 

This vital administration was done alongside a smaller group of women who, blessed with the gift of languages, risked all in the face of the enemy. 

A great addition in a vital area of national life.