![]() This was opposed by the Conservatives, and even some of Churchill’s fellow-Liberals. A possible compromise was to enable married women to vote with their husbands as co-householders. If extended to women, it would cover only the small number of female householders. The vote was already restricted to “heads of household” (male). Over a century ago in Britain, the issue was complicated. Today it sounds perfectly straightforward. ![]() The suffrage argument was simple: give women the vote. Our answers refute the belief that Churchill stridently opposed women’s suffrage except on isolated occasions. His questions illustrate Churchill’s domestic statesmanship. Its topic is the relationship between Home Secretary Winston Churchill, the Metropolitan Police, and their handling of women’s suffrage demonstrators in November 1910. Readers whose memories are still fresh about Sir Winston and the times in which he lived will enjoy reading this biography of his wife, which is as captivating as a novel.A London University student writes for help with his dissertation. Purnell has done an amazing job of research, then putting bits and pieces of information into a cognitive form that entertains, as well as discloses, the problems and difficulties of individuals during an extremely difficult time. These qualities were not only unusual in their society, but remarkable in many other levels of society. Yet the depth of their love of, appreciation for, and remarkable integrity regarding their country and each other got them through extremely difficult times. But with the massive power of Adolf Hitler's armies just a hop, skip and a jump across the narrow channel, Sir Winston and the wife he adored kept morale high.Īfter the war, it was another story for the family. They had four children, who often received much of the same sort of absent-minded parenting as their parents both had when young.īritish politics still march in the same uncomprehending way as politics in the United States. Churchill was often governed by his mother, but it was Clementine who steered his course of action, particularly in political arenas, in ways that made him very successful. ![]() ![]() Sir Winston was half American because of his mother, Jenny, but Purnell's biography clearly shows that many Brits didn't find that necessarily a mark of distinction. Her observant mind and quick thought, evidently both much better than Sir Winston's, made her his unrecognized adviser, both before the war started, during the war, and after the war, as well as in his other efforts for political power. Her mother's family and social contacts were good enough that, despite poverty barking at her heels, Clementine was able to spend some time in western Europe, staying with family members not afraid of social ostracism for having her and her mother as guests.Ĭlementine was very fortunate that her teachers encouraged her to develop language skills, and she became fluent in at least four languages and competent in a fifth. She learned how to sew, so she could make her dresses look better.įortunately, Clementine had some educational "angels" who stepped forward during her formative years to see that she received a good education. Poverty, because no one stepped forward on a regular basis to help out, was not merely an idea for the young girl, but a way of life. Married just shy of 60 years, the couple shared a turbulent childhood - actually smacking of child abuse - and both families were often financially at one level of economic distress or another.Ĭlementine's life was rough from the beginning, with her almost-upper class mother not knowing who her daughter's father was because she had so many romantic relationships at the same time. The book, at nearly 400 daunting pages, offers a focus on the younger years of both Winston and Clementine, or "Clemmie" as he called her, as well as shows their impact upon, and importance to, the British people during World War II. ![]()
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