Winston Churchill

DALTON NEWFIELD
"An essay into the field of Churchill
reading material that might be of more interest
and use than reviews, this is a column
that YOU can contribute to easily." Thus
wrote the late Dalton Newfield, editor, in
FINEST HOUR 31, from which these
notes are reprinted. If you find them interesting,
help us keep them going! Send
your notes, comments and opinions of
books by and about Winston Churchill to
the editor.
Have you noticed that almost every
book collection which goes beyond
Churchill himself has England Under
Queen Anne/Blenheim, by Trevelyn —
but almost none have the companion
Ramillies and the Union With Scotland,
equally Churchill-related? . . . Delighted
to find Famous American
Belles of the Nineteenth Century, V.T.
Peacock, Lippincott, 1901, with a
chapter and picture of Jennie Jerome. It
is very nicely bound . . . Tom Thomas
reports The Reminiscences of Lady Randolph
Churchill, Mrs. George
Cornwallis-West, was reprinted by
Cedric Chivers, 1973 . . . Centenaryyear
publications: Winston Churchill by
Elizabeth Longford, a pictorial biography
with foreword by Eden, afterword
by Winston S. Churchill, MP . . .
Winston Churchill, Henry Pelling, 724
pages including 79 pp of indices and
notes, is still generally regarded as the
best single-volume biography . . . Likewise,
Churchill/A Photographic Portrait,
Martin Gilbert, with 364 pages of
photos and cartoons, remains the
best overall photo-documentary . . .
Winston S. Churchill/His Complete
Speeches 1897-1963, edited by Robert
Rhodes James, 8 volumes (Chelsea
House/Bowker) was said to be "absolutely
complete" but wasn't — key
passages were edited including some of
the most famous.
Delightful discovery: War Impressions
by the artist Mortimer Menpes, 1901,
contains 99 watercolors of Boer War
scenes and portraits of British leaders
and personalities, two pictures of WSC,
plus several pages of text, and one of
Sunny Marlborough . . . The Great
Boer War, Arthur Conan Doyle, 1900,
has three WSC mentions including a
description of the Armoured Train Incident.
Doyle was an Army doctor and
Three years ago we predicted in these pages that values of American first
edition postwar speech books were destined to rise dramatically. They have
since appreciated by at least 400% — especially in fine, jacketed condition.
Bear in mind the press runs: Sinews of Peace 3000 copies, Europe Unite 2500,
In The Balance 2000 and Stemming The Tide only 1850. There were no later
impressions. Going, going . . .
Menpes' book has a number of pages
on him as a dedicated medico . . .
Another unusual acquisition: True
Remembrances, Philip Tilden, 1954.
Tilden was Churchill's architect when
Chartwell was rebuilt. No Churchill
when it comes to writing (he wanders),
but there are Chartwell insights that
deserve shelf-space . . . Tom Thomas
reports Battles of the Boer War, W.B.
Pemberton, 1964, was republished 1974
as a Pan Books "British Battle Series"
paperback. Mention of WSC, of course
. . . Also, TT recommends two books
of Fisherisms by Admiral Lord Fisher
himself, Memories and Records, Hodder
&. Stoughton; WSC, of course, in
these too . . .
"Leatherbound" does not exactly
describe my Lives of the 'Lustrious by
Stephen &. Lee, 1901, as it is covered
with limp calfskin, no boards. A spoof
of the great, it gives a pungent page to
"CHURCHILL, WINSTON, Unknown Quantity".
. . . How seldom we see Marlborough
with unfaded spines! I found it
recently in original dust jackets, spines
immaculate, but it wasn't cheap . . .
[There followed some remarks about
the Woods Bibliography's current
availability status. Like most of us, Mr.
Newfield ran hot and cold on Woods]:
It amazes that this work, which is by far
the best in its field, has received such
20
criticism. Perhaps the critics will seek to
improve it with their own? [Well, the
critics are still promising.]
After telling the bookseller I was only
interested in Churchill, he was surprised
when I pounced on a copy of The
War and Colonel Warden. [Reminds me
of how another bookseller did a
double-take when I pounced on my
copy of Long Adventure — Ed.] . . .
Possibly the most beautiful of Churchill
books, Woods D(a)5 and D(a)8, published
by Ransohoffs and printed by
the Grabhorn Press in San Francisco,
were printed in limited editions of 250
each; grab them when you see them. It
is a tragedy that Grabhorn used "selfend"
papers, the result being that
almost every copy has one of two binding
flaws front and back. Grabhorn
should have known better — but they
are still most desirable . . . Can anyone
find a copy of Cawthorne's Mr.
Speaker, Sir?. . . Was Ascalon/The Story
of Sir Winston Churchill's War-Time
Flights 1943-1945, Gerrard Tickell,
H&.S, London, 1964, ever produced in
hard cover? . . . And, if you collect
mentions of Randolph Churchill and
his son, don't overlook The Great
Saharan Mouse-Hunt, Pomeroy and Collins,
Hutchinson, London 1962; a
comic bit on RSC and some views of
the then-student WSC.
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