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

The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz is a bestselling 2020 work of narrative nonfiction by Erik Larson recounting Winston Churchill’s first year as prime minister of Great Britain—a year marked by the Blitz, or Nazi bombing of England. Britain’s top naval official, Churchill is chosen prime minister on May 10, 1940 amid widespread discontent with the current leader, Neville Chamberlain. Parliament revolts against Chamberlain because of his policies of appeasement toward Nazi Germany and a failed British military intervention in German-occupied Norway. Forced to resign, Chamberlain recommends Churchill as his successor, and the king gives his blessing.

On Churchill’s first day as prime minister, the Nazis invade Holland and Belgium, portending an anguished war on the continent. Although thrilled to command Britain at such a crucial time, Churchill faces some hard challenges—notably, holding the country together in a time of crisis and persuading US President Franklin Roosevelt to provide aid and bring America into the war as an ally. To help him lead the war effort, Churchill assembles a cabinet of seasoned statesman, including Lord Beaverbrook and Lord Halifax, to handle every phase of the war from aircraft production to diplomacy.

France’s surrender to the Germans in June 1940 eliminates a key defensive buffer to Britain and makes the threat of a Nazi invasion of England ever more real. In light of France’s fall, Churchill comes to see Britain, assisted by the economic and military might of the United States, as the only hope to defeat the Nazis and secure the survival of civilization and freedom.

When the German air force begins bombing London in September 1940—the beginning of the Battle of Britain—Churchill must keep up morale among the British people while devising a military strategy to defend England from the brutal aerial assaults and send a clear signal that the country will “never surrender.” While dealing with these global concerns, Churchill and his wife, Clementine, must also face the challenge of managing their family of three grown children and their spouses, whose personal lives at times threaten to destabilize the family order.

Larson uses letters, diaries, archival documents, and other primary sources to reconstruct the day-to-day lives of Churchill, his family, and his inner circle. The book is organized in seven parts, with an Introduction and an Epilogue; each part is further divided into titled chapters. The narrative shifts among various characters, locations, and events across the broad range of the war, from Churchill and his government circle in London to his children and their families and to the Nazi leadership in Berlin. Larson makes extensive use of descriptions and exact quotes, taken directly from historical documents and presented in a style similar to a work of fiction. In this way, The Splendid and the Vile bridges the worlds of history and the novel and provides a more intimate look at the time period than is usually presented.