Citadel of the Heart: Winston and the Churchill Dynasty

by John George Pearson

An at-times hostile look at the life of Winston S. Churchill and his family; it does, however, examine several "taboo" topics that other biographers - more closely associated with the Churchill family, perhaps - have been loathe to delve into.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

John Pearson was a writer best associated with James Bond creator Ian Fleming. He was Fleming's assistant at the London Sunday Times and would go on to write the first biography of Ian Fleming, 1966's The Life of Ian Fleming. Pearson also wrote "true-crime" biographies, such as The Profession of Violence: an East End gang story about the rise and fall of the Kray twins.

Pearson would also become the third official James Bond author of the adult-Bond series, writing in 1973 James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007, a first-person biography of the fictional agent James Bond. Although the canonical nature of this book has been debated by Bond fans since it was published, it was officially authorized by Glidrose Publications, the official publisher of the James Bond chronicles. Glidrose reportedly considered commissioning Pearson to write a new series of Bond novels in the 1970s, but nothing came of this.

Pearson was commissioned by Donald Campbell to chronicle his successful attempt on the Land Speed Record in 1964 in Bluebird CN7, resulting in the book Bluebird and the Dead Lake.

Pearson wrote the non-fiction book, The Gamblers, an account about the group of gamblers who made up, what was known as the Clermont Set, which included John Aspinall, James Goldsmith and Lord Lucan. The film rights to the book were purchased by Warner Bros. in 2006. He also wrote Façades, the first full-scale biography of the literary Sitwell siblings, Edith, Osbert and Sacheverell, published in 1978.

Pearson also wrote five novels:

Gone To Timbuctoo (1962) - winner of the Author's Club First Novel Award

James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007 (1973)

The Bellamy Saga (1976)

Biggles: The Authorized Biography (1978)

The Kindness of Dr. Avicenna (1982).

Pearson passed away on November 13, 2021. He was ninety one at the time of his death.

Reviews

[Lori Krause · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited about reading, and learning about Winston Churchill- myth, legend, and man, but all I got was a $20.00 dust collector. There were some interesting tidbits that I didn't know about him, but the Smithsonian Channel has covered most of it. I expected an autobiographic style book about Churchill, but I didn't count on reading about his entire family-not that there is anything wrong with it. Being a history buff, well sort of, I wanted more historical exploits than what the book gave. A decent telling of one's life, I guess.

[Chrissie · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I sit in front of the screen and don't know what to write, that is usually a three star book.

Look, I am glad I read it. I certainly did learn about Winston Churchill. Not only him but also everyone in his family, that is to say grandparents, parents, kids, nieces and nephews, grandchildren and the spouses of all these. You have to also add on the grandparents and parents and kids of the spouses. We are talking a lot of people. Also friends, enemies, work associates. Well-known authors, journalists, presidents.... LOTS of people. It is kind of hard to keep track of everybody. We are talking about upper-class, high echelon figures, royalty and aristocrats. Maybe a few of all those named could have been pared down?

The book not only looks at these people’s personalities, their respective weaknesses and strengths, but also delivers a condensed history of all that Churchill did in his lifetime. He was of course prime minister during WW2, but also again in 1951. His aim was to make a mark on history, and he certainly did! There is a lot of history in the book, and this isn't really indicated in the title. But tell me, how do you write about Churchill and not talk history? It was kind of dry sometimes and a bit long-winded. I thought the language used could have been less convoluted, quite simply more clearly stated. In books like this I prefer clarity over elegance.

I think I understand who Churchill was on completing this book, not just what he did. It was fascinating to see the twisted relationships that developed within the family. Three of his four surviving children had difficult, troubled, unsuccessful lives. Alcohol, gambling, suicide, depression, illegitimate love affairs abound. His youngest daughter, the happy successful one, Mary Soames, I read about here: A Daughter's Tale: The Memoir of Winston and Clementine Churchill's Youngest Child, but it is written by her so Pearson's book offers another point of view. It is not possible to know for sure the cause of the problems that arose, but you do get a pretty good idea.

The narration by John Lee, was clear, but too fast. Churchill was an aristocrat through and through, and Lee makes him sound even more uppity. I guess it fits the text, but I did not like it. There is a peculiar lilt to how he reads the lines; this got on my nerves.

[Joy H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Added 9/7/13.
The Private Lives Of Winston Churchill (2013) by John Pearson
I listened to the audio version of this book via Audible.com. It's a fascinating look behind the scenes, filled with personal details about Churchill's life and family. It's about 16 hours long and is narrated by John Lee who is excellent.

The book mentioned an essay which Churchill had written in 1947. I searched for more information about it online and found the following"
====================================
"In 1947, aged 73, Winston Churchill wrote a curious little essay about his father. [The essay is now known as "The Dream".] Painting alone in his studio, Churchill imagines his father (who was 52 years dead at this point) appearing to him. The two of them have a conversation."
See details at: http://www.johnderbyshire.com/Miscell...
(There is a link to pages of the essay at the top right of the page linked above.)
====================================

In the dream, Churchill and his father review history together. Near the end of the essay, Churchill's father, who had always disparaged his son, says ironically:
---------------------------------------
"... when I hear you talk, I really wonder you didn't go into politics. You might have done a lot to help. You might even have made a name for yourself."
---------------------------------------
[THAT'S THE PUNCH LINE!]

Wonderful stuff!

See the above quote at the following Google books link:
http://books.google.com/books?id=vbsU...

See more about "The Dream" at:
http://www.troynovant.com/Franson/Chu...

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting in that I knew nothing of Winston Churchill beyond the WWII legend, and The Crown. So it was interesting to learn about his family background, youth, and growing up years. I did not know he was such a war lover - I had always pictured war as having been thrust upon him but he always loved it and thought it a great way to settle one's enemies. He was a truly great man but, as the author observed, rather a monster. His family members were the collateral damage and their stories make, on the whole, pitiful reading. The whole book while hardly a page turner, was interesting.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed most of this. It seemed to tale off after Winston started winning the war in 1942. Prior to that an astonishing glimpse of the great man’s extraordinary energy ego and career, friendships , idiosyncrasies and ambitions. A glimpse into upper class society from 1870s to 1950s. The tragedy of 3 of his 4 children’s inability to thrive under the “ shade of the oak tree “, Randolph a complete waster, Sarah an Alkie , Diana committing suicide, even Winston at the end thinking his life’s achievements had come to nothing ( the Cold War I guess ).

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my favourite people from history, always happy to read books about him or by him. Well done.

[Jennifer Hatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this because of the word 'private' in the title, and I wasn't disappointed. There are details of Churchill's lineage, conquests, and political manoeverings, but also prolonged peerings into the windows of Churchill's library, dining room, and family chambers - not to reveal dirty laundry but to explain the many facets of a man that added into one of the most recognized figures of the 20th century. He fought the Nazis only to be voted out by his own people after World War II, he lavished luxury upon himself and fellow statesmen but was most at peace when laying bricks on his farm or laying paint on canvas. What was most interesting to me is the fact that this towering political icon earned a Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded in 1953 for his memoir of the Second World War.
This biography is not glowing. As successful as the man in crafting and delivering a solid performance in world history, the fate of his family was tragic. Three of his four children died relatively young, their mental and physical health bowed by genetic predispositions and the weight of the Churchill name. He made more enemies than friends. He was an unabashed supporter of war as resolution. Yet I ended this book with a respect not so much for the power of the man but of the ink-filled sword he wielded. Behind it all - the accolades, the battles, the steely determination to win at everything - was his need to prove wrong his father's prediction that he would amount to nothing. This doubt he finally laid to rest with a letter Winston penned in the last few years of his life.
"However powerfully he roused himself to the dreadful drama of the clash of arms, his power resided in the written and the spoken word." Music to the ears of a writer.

[Linnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

okay, to be honest, I only got halfway (almost) and then I just couldn't do it anymore. From what I read, not the most flattering portrayal of Churchill.