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Book Reviewed by:New from Marie Benedict, the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Woman in the Room! An incredible novel that focuses on one of the people who had the most influence during World War I and World War II: Clementine Churchill.
In 1909, Clementine steps off a train with her new husband, Winston. An angry woman emerges from the crowd to attack, shoving him in the direction of an oncoming train. Just before he stumbles, Clementine grabs him by his suit jacket. This will not be the last time Clementine Churchill will save her husband.
Lady Clementine is the ferocious story of the ambitious woman beside Winston Churchill, the story of a partner who did not flinch through the sweeping darkness of war, and who would not surrender either to expectations or to enemies.
CHAPTER ONE
September 12, 1908
London, England
I always feel different. No matter the sphere I inhabit, I always feel set apart. Even today. Especially today.
The weak, early September sun strains to break through the darkness of the cold morning. The pallid rays illuminate the cavernous bedroom assigned to me by my benefactress, Lady St. Helier. They hit the white satin dress hanging on the mannequin, reminding me that the gown waits for me.
As I finger the delicately embroidered, square-cut bodice, its sleek Venetian fabric finer than any I've ever worn, I am seized by a sensation fiercer than the usual isolation that often besets me. I crave connection.
I hunt for the clothes the maids unpacked from my trunk and placed into the dresser drawers and mirrored armoire when I arrived at 52 Portland Place a fortnight ago. But I find nothing other than the corset and undergarments meant to be worn under the white gown today. Only then do I realize that the maids must have ...
Lady Clementine is an outstanding novel about a woman the world knows so little about. I know that I love a novel when it keeps me up at night and I would rather read than sleep. I felt like I was walking with her along the many twists and turns of her life (Audrey W)...continued
Full Review
(648 words)
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(Reviewed by First Impressions Reviewers).
Lynda Cohen Loigman, author of The Two-Family House and The Wartime Sisters
In her latest novel, Lady Clementine, Marie Benedict has gifted us all with another thoughtful and illuminating behind-the-scenes look at one of history's most unusual and extraordinary women. Benedict stuns readers with a glorious assortment of Clementine Churchill's most personal secrets: her scandalous childhood, her unexpected role as a social outsider, her maternal insecurities, and the daily struggles she faces to smooth her husband's political blunders and to keep up with his relentless demands for guidance and attention. With a historian's eye and a writer's heart, Benedict provides an unforgettable glimpse into the private world of a brilliant woman whose impact and influence on world events deserves to be acknowledged. Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis
The atmospheric prose of Marie Benedict draws me in every single time. Lady Clementine's powerful and spirited story is both compelling and immersive. Benedict fully inhabits the measured and intelligent voice of Clementine Churchill. Entranced throughout, I discovered the secrets behind a familiar story I thought I knew. Deftly moving from the early nineteen hundreds through World War II, Benedict skillfully paints a vivid picture of the times and life of Clementine, the remarkable woman who was the steady force beside Winston Churchill. Susan Meissner, bestselling author of The Last Year of the War
Benedict is a true master at weaving the threads of the past into a compelling story for today. Here is the fictionalized account of the person who was the unequivocal wind beneath Winston Churchill's wings - a woman whose impact on the world-shaper that was WW2 has been begging to be told. A remarkable story of remarkable woman.
Clementine Churchill is best known as the wife of Winston Churchill, who held the office of British Prime minister during (1940-1945) and after (1951-1955) World War II. However, as is shown in Marie Benedict's novel Lady Clementine, while Clementine supported and assisted her husband in his governing endeavors, she held her own political opinions and was politically and socially active in her own right.
Clementine (pronounced "Clemen-teen"), who was born in 1885, experienced an unstable childhood due to various losses and upheavals. Her parents, Sir Henry Montague Hozier and Lady Blanche Hozier, were aristocrats notorious for their numerous affairs, which left doubt as to whether Henry was actually Clementine's father. Henry ...
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