Oftentimes the portrayal of historic events casts key figures as static chess-pieces engaged in a series of battles, negotiations, and strategies. While many people are aware of Winston Churchill’s magnetic speeches and integral role in acquiring victory for the Allies in World War II, the story of how this simultaneously empathetic and cutthroat man maintained daily life with his family and the “Secret Circle” is little known. Journalist Erik Larson delivers a vivid narrative of the man whose strength of character empowered a nation to persevere through the year that shook the earth.

On September 3rd, 1939, England declared war on Germany, summoning a string of events which would influence nations, families, and individuals. With his many cigars, habitual naps, and questionable drinking habits, Churchill didn’t appear to many of his contemporaries as the safest and most effective candidate for the role of the UK’s new Prime Minister. As war drew closer to home, ushering in a period of tense uncertainty for Great Britain, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned. On May 10, 1940, the man thought to be too sporadic and unrefined to lead a nation—Churchill—quite literally had the world thrust upon him.

Unprecedented times require unusual characters, and 10 Downing Street in London, filled with a new cast, contained these in droves. Amidst the invasion of Holland and Poland, as well as impending chaos to Britain itself, daily life drew on. From his first days as Prime Minister, Churchill faced a difficult decision regarding the troops stationed at Dunkirk. Should he follow his ingrained sense of determination and refuse to withdraw his men? Or rather, should he listen to his sense of compassion and bring those fathers, sons, brothers, and friends home? He withdrew the troops. This choice was a painstaking one, but his heart held out and 338,226 men returned.

Churchill’s knack for perfection, indefatigable work ethic, and openly emotional empathy with the people he led drove him to war-shifting actions. His electric speeches, which inspired bravery and inspiration in hearers, were fueled by unquenchable energy as well. Composing speeches oftentimes for hours in bed or in the bathtub, Churchill lived each moment productively. In fact, he maintained his own “Keep Handy” file filled with quotes, phrases, and verses from the Bible, literature, and poetry to weave into his speeches later, a noted facet which made his words so impactful. Despite shaky beginnings and innumerable doubts concerning Churchill’s abilities as a level-headed leader, his dynamic personality was a key factor which contributed to his success in inspiring new hope and preventing worldwide dissolution.

Employing the aid of diary entries, journal accounts, private letters, and intelligence reports, the author depicts Churchill as the ironically silk-pajama-wearing master of military strategy he was. Additionally, a few key figures contributed greatly to the positive movement of the war narrative. This inexhaustible cast of characters supported Churchill throughout monumental moments tucked away in the prime ministerial estate at Chequers. Throughout Nazi leader and Luftwaffe commander in chief Hermann Göring’s various attempts to demolish the Royal Air Force in order to launch an invasion of England, Churchill’s crew remained.

Drawing upon the poetically verbose diaries of Mary Churchill, the Prime Minister’s youngest child, the author sketches a portrait of a family maintaining its life amidst bombings, air raids, and political turmoil. Only 17 at the time of Churchill’s election, Mary found solace in excursions with relatives and at dances with young airmen while caring for her fellow citizens. Her mother Clementine was the same, surveying the unsanitary conditions of the air raid shelters and seeking to enact a change.

Churchill’s “Secret Circle” grew just as significant as his family and were barely allowed time away from the Prime Minister’s campaign. Among these individuals was the aloof Frederick Lindemann, referred to by Churchill as the Prof, an Oxford physicist in charge of the scientific aspects of Churchill’s campaign including the efforts to detect the German radio beaming technology called knickebein. Though Lindemann seemed cold and calculating, documents portray another element of his character—one which fought for higher tea rations for English citizens. 

Another member of Churchill’s clique was his assistant private secretary John Colville, who kept pages of detailed journal entries describing both his own romantic escapades and the inner-workings of the war campaign. This act would surely have landed him in trouble with the Prime Minister, but his accounts provide valuable information about the daily workings of life in Churchill’s inner circle.

In charge of the Ministry of Aircraft Production was the notorious Max Aitken, also called Lord Beaverbrook. With a work ethic comparable to Churchill’s, Beaverbrook drove the production of fighters from 45 to 1,040 in a very short period of time. When he wasn’t rallying his factories to increase production, he gossiped with Pamela, Churchill’s daughter-in-law who was married to the prime minister’s son Randolph, earning himself the appropriate name of “the Minister of Midnight.” 

At Chequers, these individuals forced themselves to stay awake as Churchill reviewed strategies for combating the German air raids, while dancing to music on the gramophone, a sandwich in hand. The “Secret Circle” and his family at Chequers offered Churchill a much needed respite which enabled him to ready the nation for code name “Cromwell,” or what people now call the Blitz.

A commodity as simple as tea can be sacred. The Blitz followed shortly after Germany’s accidental attack on London on August 24, 1940, which was planned as an attack on other areas of England, but failed due to poor viewing conditions. German bombers waged war on London, an area of England previously forbidden by Hitler himself. Though tea rations decreased, morale remained and so did teatime, just in moderation; amidst air raids, men and women sipped from their cups and waited for the silent moment which signaled that the raids were over. 

During the day, people maintained their usual routines before cloistering themselves at night. Understandably, with destruction looming so close, people were filled with a newfound appreciation for life itself, relishing youth and love despite the crumbling conditions surrounding them. Many children wore Mickey Mouse gas masks during the raids, a morbid depiction of innocence in a time of war.

Mary Churchill walked this puzzling line as well. Though her parents urged her to stay at Breccles Hall in the countryside, secluded from the threat of air raids, she felt it was her duty to be in the midst of action with her fellow English men and women. Eventually, her parents allowed her to return to a post at Chequers where she both celebrated her 18th birthday and began working for the Women’s Voluntary Services.

Churchill was not immune to the movement of daily life. Though his station at Chequers was removed from the intensity of the German raids, he still made sure to be a proper leader to his people. His daily life remained, but tailored itself around the war efforts—meetings were punctuated by naps, and speeches were dictated from his bathtub. After the raids, Churchill traveled to London to assess the damage, surveying the entire area against his advisors’ wishes. He cried openly while traveling throughout the city, witnessing life the way war had left it, some parts untouched, others completely shattered. Watching their leader stride through the ruins, people were encouraged and comforted. English men and women, much like their leader, lived strangely, bravely undeterred.

The ability of words to garner support or instill panic into hearers was on monumental display during WWII. This power found its voice in the national leaders who were specially equipped to shift history using this platform. Propaganda infiltrated all facets of daily life, and rumors circulated at damaging speeds. Still, the immediacy of truth and accurate accounts of the war prevailed in Churchill’s speeches and letters.

Though correspondents at Bletchley Park were informed by an imprisoned Nazi airman of Germany’s eventual full-fledged air raids, code name “Moonlight Sonata,” the projected whereabouts of the attacks were inaccurate. As expected, the raid had three parts like a sonata, and it was intended to bring complete destruction to destroy morale. On November 14, 1940, the men, women, and children of the small city of Coventry heard the infamous sirens and took cover in a city which would soon be overwhelmed by flames. Headed by Göring himself, the entire German long range Bomber force, 1,800 aircraft in all, fired upon the factory workers and innocent occupants of Coventry, leaving a wake of disembodied limbs, charred cathedrals, and crumbled homes. In all, 568 civilians died, and another 865 were gravely wounded.

Distraught, Churchill refused to wait for help any longer. With his persuasive eloquence, the Prime Minister wrote a letter to newly re-elected President Roosevelt, describing to him the dire conditions of the nation after the brutal attack. The letter made it aboard the Tuscaloosa, a place of respite where Roosevelt took time away from his office. Once again, Churchill’s words navigated a new course of events—Roosevelt agreed to help. 

In another instance of word-enabled bravery, Roosevelt used his December 29th “Fireside Chat” to propose the plan he had mulled over during his break on the Tuscaloosa. Though he had won the election against Wendell Wilkie by promising Americans he wouldn’t be sending their men into war, now it was time to inform the people of a new plan. Following a deceptively peaceful Christmas, Roosevelt informed the people of his decision to provide England with as much aid as it needed, regardless of money. Though the Lend-Lease Act was passed much later, Roosevelt alluded to this plan in his speech, along with his prevailing belief that the Axis powers would fail.

Though Roosevelt’s talk aired simultaneously as the “Great Fire” raid which destroyed 90% of London’s financial district, a coincidence the author notes was perhaps purposeful, it only underscores the sheer force of words. Especially in times of conflict, words take on a much more serious shape, as leaders consciously craft them to either encourage or destroy national morale and ultimately change the shape of history.

Strategy and showmanship infiltrated Churchill’s circle as they hosted American visitors with the hopes of garnering their understanding and eventual support. The first of these was Roosevelt’s personal advisor Harry Hopkins, followed by the chairman of the Union Pacific Rail Empire, William Averell Harriman. Much to England’s benefit, both men were in awe of the Prime Minister who showed them the remains of recently raided cities in order to clarify the stakes of the situation.

Despite the enactment of the Lend-Lease Act on March 11, 1941 and the extension of America’s domain in the Atlantic Ocean on April 13th, which provided England with added coverage on the sea, the nation still faltered in its strength. Germany didn’t loosen its hold and air raids took place more frequently than ever. Hitler wanted to ensure that America never entered the war, so he decided to drain England of whatever life it had left. For a period of time, it worked. Churchill withdrew troops from Greece and the Middle East, leading to widespread doubt in his abilities to handle the affairs of the war. On May 6, 1941, the Parliamentary Debate concerning Churchill’s capabilities took place, affirming the notion that members of the House of Commons believed he relied too heavily upon the promise of additional American support. After Churchill delivered another of his emotionally stirring speeches, a vote was cast. Almost unanimously, the House of Commons wanted him to remain.

Shortly after, Churchill’s suspicions proved true. A year to the date on which the Prime Minister stepped into his new role, the most horrific raid London had ever experienced hit. That night alone a record number of Londoners were killed. Overall, the year of the Blitz led to the brutal deaths of 44,652 English men, women, and children. 

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, and things began to change. Churchill learned of this tragedy as he was listening to the radio, prompting an immediate phone call to Roosevelt. Both parties decided to declare war on Japan, and on December 11th, Hitler declared war on the United States. Events shifted as America entered the fight. Though it took four more years of steadily intense combat, air raids, and battle before the Allies finally defeated Nazi Germany, now Churchill was no longer alone.

Throughout this period of time, the essential element of Churchill’s leadership was his capacity to ignite bravery within others. His relentless work ethic and striking personality stand as pillars of what it means to endure. Giving up was simply not an option in his mind. He stayed up late into the night and expected those with him to do the same, oftentimes until two o’clock in the morning. In the same way, he persisted in his conviction that Nazi Germany would be defeated. Churchill’s courage was infectious, not only in his speeches, but in the way he carried on with his life.

Throughout his tenure, this courage preserved personality and humanity during a period which threatened to reduce human beings to mere numbers. The capacity of one man to insist on living purposefully inspired millions of others to do so as well. Holding onto the small parts of daily life and recognizing the individuality of each person can enable a nation to withstand present destruction and foster future peace.