Churchill's Hour: A Novel of Defiance [Paperback]

Michael Dobbs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2008

In this stunning novel, political insider Michael Dobbs brings alive the curmudgeon persona of Winston Churchill. It is 1941, a year of desperation for England battered by the war. Churchill has only one hope, that the U.S. will come to his country's aid, but Roosevelt is unable to do so because America is wedded to isolation.

The prime minister's agony is compounded by a very personal dilemma. Pamela, the wife of his dissolute son, Randolph, has fallen in love with FDR's special envoy to England, Averill Harriman. With England threatened by a German invasion and a desperate Russia devastated by the advancing Nazi onslaught, Churchill must convince America his cause is theirs. How he does so is so damning he will take the secret to his grave. Following his acclaimed Churchill novels Never Surrender and Churchill's Triumph, Dobbs' taut reimagining makes England's feisty prime minister jump off the page.

Includes bonus reading group guide.

PRAISE FOR MICHAEL DOBBS:

"Churchill as nature intended: Dobbs captures his famous subject with artistry. With every stroke of his brush, he etches the character deeper into the memory. It is beautifully done." - Sunday Telegraph

"Riveting and controversial... Dobbs has the gift of taking you inside his subject's head." - Glasgow Evening Times

"Michael Dobbs has always had an uncanny feel for current affairs... This is a typically masterful page-turner." - Hampstead and Highgate Express

"Intriguing political drama from a master of the genre." - Irish Independent

"An insightful look back in time - Four Stars." - Sunday Express

"Michael Dobbs weaves history and imagination into a gripping read. His two previous Churchill novels were bestsellers. This one will join them." - CHOICE magazine

"The voice of Churchill rings true... As an insightful, thought-provoking portrait of one man's personal courage and unshakeable conviction, it succeeds magnificently." - Yorkshire Post

"Dobbs lifts the lid on the greatest Briton, exposing his strengths, weaknesses, foibles - right down to his table manners - in a way that makes the read utterly compelling... By any standards, this is a remarkable book." - Aberdeen Press and Journal

"Entertaining and insightful, it shows how the leader's loyalty towards the cause affected his personal life, and threatened to rip apart his family." - Northern Echo

Editorial Reviews

Review

'An author who can bring historical happenings so vitally back to life, and made all the more impressive by being historically accurate in every aspect.' Anthony Howard, The Times, on Winston's War 'An intriguing tale of espionage and treason that charts the increasingly tangled lives of a unique cast. This is a work to enthral.' Daily Mail 'Dobbs has done a brilliant job in evoking the drama the despair of Britain hovering on the edge of the abyss.' Sunday Express --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Michael Dobbs is also Lord Dobbs of Wylye, a member of the British House of Lords. He is Britain's leading political novelist and has been a senior adviser to Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher, John Major and David Cameron. His bestselling books include House of Cards, which was made into an award winning TV series in the UK and is currently being remade into a major US television series by Kevin Spacey and the director David Fincher. Read more on his website - www.michaeldobbs.com.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 343 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402213921
• ISBN-13: 978-1402213922
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #209,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Winston gets an early Christmas present, July 27, 2006

By 

Joseph Haschka (Glendale, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Churchills Hour (Paperback)

The third historical novel by Michael Dobbs in the Winston Churchill series following WINSTON'S WAR and NEVER SURRENDER, CHURCHILL'S HOUR delivers a pre-Christmas present to Winston in early December 1941 - the United States is sucked into the war against Germany.

Here, the time frame is Christmas Day 1940 to December 11, 1941. In that period, John Winant replaces Joseph Kennedy as U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James, Averell Harriman arrives in Britain as America's Lend-Lease administrator, London is blitzed, HMS Hood is traded for the KMS Bismarck, Churchill has his first summit with FDR, Deputy Fuehrer Rudolf Hess crash lands his plane in Scotland, Rommel debarks in North Africa, Germany assaults Russia, Japan attacks Pearl Harbor and sinks HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, and America and Britain declare war on Japan. Finally, Hitler declares war against the former and Winston can sleep more easily. All through 1940, England has barely been able to hang on and Churchill is desperate for America to enter the conflict; Roosevelt is infuriatingly elusive on the subject.

Students of Churchill and his leadership role up to and during WWII will find CHURCHILL'S HOUR, and the entire series, an engrossing read; those who aren't will likely be bored to tears. While much of the narrative concerns factual events, the fictionalized filler is given commendable credence by the author's version of the Prime Minister, who stays consistent with his historical persona throughout, even when dealing with the messy marriages of his son Randolph and his daughter Sarah. Indeed, Dobbs takes the opportunity to introduce the reader to one of the more intriguing women of the twentieth century, Pamela Digby Churchill, Randolph's wife. History records that Pamela, after divorcing the wretched Randolph, went on to occupy the beds of several prominent and wealthy men, and eventually married Averell Harriman thirty years after having an affair with him in 1941. A courtesan in the most positive sense of the word, Pamela was eventually named U.S. Ambassador to France by President Bill Clinton (how apt!) in 1993. When she died in Paris in 1997, French President Jacques Chirac posthumously awarded her the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor.

The humor in CHURCHILL'S HOUR is provided by Winston's loyal manservant, Frank Sawyers, a real person, apparently, who disappeared from history after leaving his master's household in 1947. The "twist" in the book comes via Winston's Machiavellian connivance (?) in the Japanese sneak attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet and Germany's subsequent declaration of war against America by the clever dissemination of disinformation through an Axis spy. Did he, or didn't he? If he did, then he was only following Admiral Lord Nelson's famous order at Trafalgar, "England expects every man to do his duty", and the Empire's demise was postponed until another time.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Noputdowner, December 22, 2004

By 

Oliver Ness "Oliver" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Churchill's Hour (Hardcover)

I was attracted to this book by a review I read in one of the British Sunday newspapers and grabbed it for an airline flight. My only irritation was that I still hadn't finished it by the time we touched down! This book is great. Churchill comes across as if he is real flesh and blood, and some of the other characters are magnificent. I've always had an interest in Pearl Harbour, but mostly on the military side. I had no idea how much passion and deception went into the story. It wasn't just bombs and battleships, but bedtime sorties in Downing Street too! Huge fun.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gritty Determination in the Face of Adversity, November 29, 2004

By 

J. Chippindale (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Churchill's Hour (Hardcover)

This is the third book in the Churchill series.

The Battle of Britain has just about brought Britain to its knees and the bombing of major British cities has begun to an extent to demoralise the British people and further problems occur when Japan is set to begin attacks.

The United States are reluctant to become involved in a war in Europe and then there is the unexpected attack on Pearl Harbour which alters the course of events dramatically.

Churchill's own personal problems have worsened to such an extent that they are starting to overshadow and also put in jeopardy his professional position.