The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz

“I felt as if I were walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial.” 

These words from Churchill’s memoirs reflect how he felt upon being chosen prime minister. They demonstrate his consciousness of the importance of the moment and his place in it. 

“W.C. is really the counterpart of Goring in England.”

Along with his admirers, Churchill had plenty of critics, as this quote shows. The speaker, the wife of a member of Parliament, goes on to liken the two men in their “bloated ego,” “treachery,” “heroics and hot air” (23).

“If I had to spend my whole life with a man, I’d choose Chamberlain, but I think I would sooner have Mr. Churchill if there was a storm and I was shipwrecked.” 

This is written by a Mass-Observation diarist, Nella Last, and illustrates the confidence that ordinary British citizens placed in Churchill. The quote suggests that Chamberlain was considered the more stable individual, but Churchill the one who could rescue people in extreme circumstances—who could get a difficult job done.