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

by Erik Larson

Göring told Goebbels the war would be over in three weeks.

first to mark targets by dropping a mix of incendiary and high-explosive bombs that ignited immense fires to guide the pilots following behind. The glow was visible even through clouds. The group’s zone of operations was expanded

“First of all he placed himself in the position of Hitler and attacked these isles while I defended them. He then revised the whole of the Air Raid Warning system and

“There was not a soul to whom one could disclose one’s inward anxieties without risking the calamitous effects of lack of confidence,

Göring exhibited an “all-embracing acquisitiveness,”

city had retreated back into a dream of invulnerability, punctuated now and then by false alerts

Throwing caution to the winds, she bathed without a cap.

everything was covered with a heavy brown dust,

issue the “Cromwell” alert, notifying Home Forces that invasion was imminent.

cease

being a virgin,

rather have a good smoke or go to the pictures.”

cannot be alive, this is the end of the world.”

“When are we going to bomb Berlin, Winnie?”

Churchill whirled, shook his fist and walking stick, and snarled, “You leave that to me!”

uniquely unpredictable magic that was Churchill”—his

fires they ignited burned throughout the night, serving as visual guides for each successive wave of bombers. Even so, most

Henceforth, large centralized manufacturing centers would be broken up and dispersed to nodes spread throughout the country.

Hitler really was interested in a peace arrangement.

king and queen, however, were not present; they spent each night at Windsor Castle, twenty miles due west of the palace, and commuted to London each morning.

he proffered a mix of optimism and unglazed realism.

outcome was “of far more consequence to the life and future of the world and its civilization than these brave old days of the past.” Lest his remarks send

crews to fire with abandon,

impact on civic morale was striking and immediate.

The new cacophony had “an immense effect on people’s morale,”

curious bit of mass psychology—the relief of hitting back.”

One of the worst effects was lack of sleep. Sirens and bombs and anxiety tore the night

71 percent—just stayed in their homes, sometimes

attack, the king observed, made him and his

wife feel a closer connection to the masses. The queen put it succinctly: “I’m glad we’ve

have shot down one hundred and eighty-three

Battle of Britain Day,

the firmament. Never

was there such a

contrast of natural splendor and hum...

Title origin

residents did die, and the onset of night became a source of dread, but by day, life took on a strange normalcy. The

burying-phobia, result of having seen so many

least one brand of toilet paper was also in perilously short

Some shelters began publishing their own journals and bulletins,

HAT THE ATTACKS ON London seemed clearly to unleash was a new sexuality,

was sex at its sweetest: not for money or marriage, but for love of being alive and wanting to give.” Affairs

Somehow the English were managing to produce fighters at a rate that outpaced their losses.

airplane carrying Hitler, Göring and Goebbels crashes. All three are killed. Who is saved?” Answer: “The German People.”

ITH THE BOMBING OF LONDON came increased fears for Churchill’s safety, a

sat on

chimney to keep warm, until an officer came up to ask him politely to move—smoke was backing up into the rooms

concerned about the dangers posed by the many cigars Churchill received as gifts from citizens and foreign emissaries,

Ditchley, and that he would be arriving with

Pamela’s marriage to Randolph grew increasingly strained:

Remember baby Winston & I are willing to starve for you, but we would prefer not to.”