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

by Erik Larson

He spoke of this “strange Christmas Eve,” and how important it was to preserve Christmas as an island amid the storm. “Let the children have their night of fun and laughter,” Churchill said. “Let gifts of Father Christmas delight their play. Let us grown-ups share to the full in their unstinted pleasures”—abruptly, he lowered his voice to a deep, forbidding growl—“before we turn again to the stern tasks and formidable year that lie before us. Resolve!—that by our sacrifice and daring, these same children shall not be robbed of their inheritance or denied their right to live in a free and decent world.” He closed: “And so”—he flung his hand skyward—“and so, in God’s mercy, a happy Christmas to you all.” The crowd began to sing: three carols, starting with “O Come, All Ye Faithful” and closing with three verses of “Silent Night,” sung with solemnity by the massed voices of thousands of Americans facing a new war.