Churchills

'There never was a Churchill from John of Marlborough down who had either morals or principles', so said Gladstone. From the First Duke of Marlborough - soldier of genius, restless empire-builder and cuckolder of Charles II - onwards, the Churchills have been politicians, gamblers and profligates, heroes and womanisers. The Churchills is a richly layered portrait of an extraordinary set of men and women - grandly ambitious, regularly impecunious, impulsive, arrogant and brave. And towering above the Churchill clan is the figure of Winston - his failures and his triumphs shown in a new and revealing context - ultimately our 'greatest Briton'. 'Never ceases to amaze and entertain… an unputdownable family saga' - The Spectator 'A tremendous read, packing in more champagne, adultery, divorce and continental dalliances than any book I have read. Engrossing' - Stella Tillyard, Financial Times 4* review - Christopher Silvester , Daily Express 'the author has done an admirable job in weaving [the character's stories 'Lovell tells [the stories '[a class="default_listitem" Literary Review 'exceptionally readable narrative' 4* - James Owen, Mail on Sunday 'one of the great pleasure of this biography is seeing the lesser-known characters take their place in history' - Sunday Express, 4* '… many good stories bear re-telling and Lovell, who explains from the start that she regards 'contemporary gossip' as legitimate source material, tells them with relish' - Anne Chisholm, Evening Standard 'Enthralling…written with considerable grace and style' - Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian '… Lovell pens a lively account' - The Sunday Times 'The Churchills treads the tightrope between gossip and history, which is the source of its pleasure' - Frances Wilson, Daily Telegraph '… if you're new to the subject, The Churchills won't let you down - and if you're an addict of the genre, it'll provide a perfectly competent summary' - A. N. Wilson, Reader's Digest