Mary Churchill’s War: The Wartime Diaries of Churchill’s Youngest Daughter
For anyone interested in World War II (and who isn’t?), opening this book is like opening a treasure chest. Having read Erik Larson’s The Splendid and the Vile, my appetite for these diaries was already whetted by his frequent references to them. In the foreword for this book, Larson tells us he was “engaged, charmed, and enthralled” by the diaries. That’s exactly how I felt.
Emma Soames, Mary’s daughter and the editor of the book, inserts brief summaries of events to put the diary entries (and letters) in context. She also includes a “Dramatis Personae” to help us sort out the many notable people who pop up in Mary’s life. The diaries capture Mary’s daily life with its dinners and dances, temporary crushes, and the “drearisomeness” of war. Her youthful introspections are touching and sometimes humorous, while the letters to her mother after the war while traveling through Germany contain heartbreaking stories of survival. In addition to the details of her own life, we learn about Winston Churchill’s challenges, his victories, and his defeats from someone who was present at the crucial moments. What comes across most clearly is the intense devotion Mary feels for her father.
Mary’s diaries are a remarkably generous gift to posterity. Even though she was only sixteen when she began the diaries, she knew she had a front row seat to some of the most important events in history. This is not a book to devour, but one to relish. The language is fresh and lively, and some of her nuggets of wisdom may be useful even today: “It strengthens in my mind that one should expect & hope & pray for very little—except courage.”
