“Churchill & Son”, by Josh Ireland ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Churchill & Son, by journalist and author Josh Ireland explores a little-examined aspect of the life of Winston Churchill: his relationship with his only son, Randolph.

I am not widely read on the subject of Winston Churchill but I have always admired him, mostly for the job he did leading the British Empire in their lonely stand against Nazi Germany in the dark early days of the Second World War. Books such as Candice Millard’s excellent Hero of the Empire; Destination: Casablanca, by Meredith Hindley; and Eight Days at Yalta, by Diana Preston have shaped what I know of Winston Churchill, and aside from The Splendid and the Vile, by Erik Larson, which deals closely with the entire Churchill clan during World War II, in the books that I have read about the elder Churchill I have seen relatively sparing mention of his son, Randolph.

Churchill & Son was therefore, revelatory in many ways. I had seen glimpses of Randolph Churchill’s character in other books where he is given minor mention because of his presence at events in which his father was a major player, but this book fleshes out those largely incomplete characterizations, revealing a man who lived in the shadow of a larger-than-life, adoring but often overbearing father in a time of world-changing events in which his father had a major role. That time and those events were a crucible that might have forged a man of stronger character into a powerful figure in his own right, but like a steel ingot with deeply hidden flaws that fractures under the forces of the furnace and the hammer, in the case of Randolph Churchill served only to reveal, and amplify, his inherent weaknesses.

The revelations I gleaned from reading Churchill & Son were not only about Randolph. Much can be learned about a man’s character in observing how he treats his own family, and the manner in which Winston’s fraught relationship with his own neglectful father, which is dealt with in the early part of the book, shaped and informed his relationship with Randolph, and subsequently, Randolph’s own character, offers a window into Winston himself that I found fascinating.

The extensive research undertaken by author Josh Ireland is apparent in the wealth of sources quoted or referred to in the pages of the book, and documented in the extensive bibliography, from published works to private diaries. I highly recommend this book for anyone with an interest in Winston Churchill’s life, times, and family; it fills in gaps in the jigsaw-puzzle picture of that complex, fascinating man, who played such an important part in shaping the modern world, that other sources might not deal with.