Lady Clementine is a very intriguing portrait of the wife of Winston Churchill. As a shrewd and political minded woman before her time, Clementine provided Winston his safety net, backbone and also served as his political counsel and his strategic analyst. This story provides an unflinching look at Clementines successes but also addresses some of her shortcomings as well. I think I learned so much more about England’s war time political landscape and this overlooked because of her gender and oft forgotten character in our history. I highly enjoyed this book, especially the second half. I received an ARC if this book, all opinions are my own.

❤️❤️❤️❤️
Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict.

To be honest, I didn’t know much about Clementine and Winston Churchill. I’d heard of them but did not know the extent of their actions or their contributions to society. This novel is a great insight into the lives of the Churchills through the eyes of Clementine Church from 1908 to the end of WWII.
I absolutely loved the spitfire attitude of Clementine! She was not merely Winston’s wife but his adviser and activist for the people during the war. She raised money for Russia, improved the quality of bomb shelters and enabled women to be utilized for their contributions. However, under the polished exterior, Clementine faced many struggles that wives and mothers feel. Though Winston and Clementine had a loving marriage, she still felt under appreciated and at times worn out from doing all that she did. She also felt guilt for not being the loving mother to her children. It goes to show that even the most influential people are still human with their limits.
I hope that you read it and enjoy it as much as I did.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this story.
I never thought to look into the wives of important men in history until I came upon this author. Every time I finish a book from this author I feel that I have learned something about history and the women behind it that tend to be hidden or forgotten from history. This is an author that I look forward to because she has yet to disappoint me. I recommend this for historical fiction fans and anyone looking to learn more about women in history. I look forward to more books from this author and to learning.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this. I will be posting a full review to Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram.

I was intrigued to learn more about Clementine Churchill. I had no idea of her upbringing, how she met Winston and how they coped through two World Wars and various job titles. The book didn't grab me in the way I had hoped. While it was very interesting historically speaking, there wasn't much emotion put forth in the recitation of her life.

Thank you Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and Marie Benedict for free e-Arc in return of my honest review.

Lady Clementine is a story of Clementine Churchill, the wife of famous Winston Churchill. Personally, I haven't heard much about Lady Clementine. Usually Mr. Churchill takes the stage with his political achievements. It seems like Lady Clementine was always in his shadow due to his personality and time that they lived in. Wives were supposed to take care of children and home, and lead social life in terms of sharing gossip rather than circling in political spheres and help their husband to rehearse speeches. Lady Clementine was very courageous woman who doesn't hesitate to be alongside her husband in most trickiest and dangerous situations - she saves his life of a train platform when Winston Churchill was pushed by angry suffragette, she was strong during protests in Ireland, she inspected bomb damage after air raid in London during WWII, etc.

However, I did not like the structure and narrative of the novel. It looked mostly like Lady Clementine's journal notes without the intimacy. The chapters were divided by times frames and locations, and sometimes between the two chapters years passed. It seems like the author choose most important years of Winston Churchill and wanted to show how his wife influenced his and what she had done for his career. At the same time, I personally did not find the narrative cohesive.

Also the novel felt very dry and slow moving. It reminded me of a non-fiction biographical novel rather than historical fiction. I fell live the novel lacked finesse. I cannot say it was boring, but very close to it.

I give Lady Clementine 3 stars + 1 for facilitating my own research of Lady Clementine.

Yet another wonderfully researched piece of historical fiction from Marie Benedict. I knew nothing of the woman behind Churchill and like her other books, Benedict takes a deep dive into the character.

There are so many great books, both fiction and non-fiction, about Winston Churchill. It was high time that such an engrossing, readable book has been written about his wife. She withstood so many trials and had such decorum. She bolstered him when he needed bolstered, and she really made his leadership possible. We also get to see the toll that took on her own life, and how she had to use different strategies to deal with the conflicts. This book is more than just fiction, but also a romance. Not a romance of the fleeting, fairy tale variety, but the struggles, toils, and lasting respect and love of a relationship that endured through some of the most tragic experiences in history. Very well done.

A wonderful, insightful look at the life of Clementine Churchill. Benedict does a remarkable job at providing the reader a glimpse of Clementine's strength and perseverance through the tumultuous time of WWII.

An enjoyable read learning more about Clementine Churchill, the wife of Winston. Very timely as I have been watching World on Fire on tv, which is set in WW2.

While this is a novel, I believe the research makes for a realistic and true representation of this resilient woman who was far more powerful behind the scenes, than we realised. Winston and herself were certainly a power couple of their time and their love for each other was very deep.

Also shown was the dedication to service which existed at the time.....a trait that seems to be leaving our new generations. Although it did mean the Churchill offspring suffered because of the lack of a mother a lot of the time.

I enjoyed that Marie Benedict shone a light on this unseen heroine of history. I enjoy this historical fiction genre and will be looking out for Marie's books in future.

Thanks #netgalley #sourcebooks #sbkslandmark for a free ARC of #ladyclementine in exchange for an honest review.

An incredible novel that focuses on one of the people who had the most influence during World War I and World War II: Clementine Churchill.

I knew very little about Clementine Churchill and her roll in the war before reading this book, that is why I was so eager to read it. She is portrayed as a strong, intelligent woman with individual thoughts about politics. The book gives us a very intimate perspective of Churchill´s life and marriage. I highly recommended to all historical readers.

Thanks to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley #LadyClementine

I had high hopes for Marie Benedict’s Lady Clementine, but they didn’t pan out. I’m not sure whether it was Benedict or the material she had to work with, but I anticipated learning more about Clementine’s life, either before her marriage to Winston Churchill or after, but she marries him at 23 which is the beginning of the novel and the story only goes through WWII. Sigh.

Basically, this was a very traditional marriage with Clementine devoting herself to Churchill to the exclusion of all else, including their children and her health. It wasn’t until she was in her 50s, in the midst of the war that she began to create work she was passionate about. Even then, Churchill not only demanded an extraordinary amount of her time, but he downplayed and even ignored the important work she was doing. Sadly, I felt as if I learned more about Winston than Clementine and none of it was positive.

Clementine Churchill is an endlessly fascinating personality; reading the few biographies of her just leaves the reader wanting to know more about her life. Her impact on her illustrious spouse can't be underestimated; she had a front row seat for all of his his historic moments and wielded enormous influence on his actions and the speeches that buoyed a nation. She represents the strong, independent yet somewhat flawed characters that are the stuff of fiction, except that she really existed. The author does a good job of capturing all of this, bringing this extraordinary woman to the attention of later generations. Of course, much of the dialogue is speculative and it's well to recall that this is historical fiction although based on fact. Many may want to follow this book up with Sonia Purnell's biography Clementine; for those who have already read up on her, there will be few surprises but entertaining reading nonetheless. Manay thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy; this represents my honest opinion.

“I will wait for no one to invite me into history.” Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict

3 stars. I’m sad I can’t give it any higher. Surely the wife of Winston Churchill is interesting, you’d think. She is but this book felt so much longer than it is. So maybe she isn’t that interesting?

We start the book the day before they get married, Clementine and Winston. And plod our way thru Winston’s career highs and lows and kids in between till we get to WW2. Which was more interesting. Or maybe because it was near the end of the book.

I know this is fiction despite the characters of this story, so I often wondered if this was truly her thoughts and how well was this story researched (since her letters and notes and the notes of people around her must’ve been preserved). But it did get dull in the middle, despite skipping months and/or years between chapters, and I found myself distracted by other books.

Which is sad because reading about this person should’ve been a breeze. I was googling people and the Churchills and their family while reading. Sigh.

At any rate, Lady Clementine is admirable for defining her role in his life beyond what was expected of her, unconventional though it may be.

But maybe I will pause before I pick up another book by this author. This is my second book of hers that I’ve read and both books didn’t keep my attention very well.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmarks fit giving me a copy of this book. Sorry it took so long to review this one.

Great for fans of historical fiction! It was super interesting to learn about the life of Winston Churchill’s wife.

All the strain and struggle that have comprised my life-my lonely and strange childhood, the wild swings of my unusual marriage, my struggle with motherhood, my compunction to constantly prove myself worthy, the tumult of two wars, even my pervasive sense of otherness - seem to fall away. I see with unexpected clarity that, without my unique hardships and failings, particularly with my children, I could not have become the Clementine who forged this path through politics and history, and without me, my husband could not have become the Winston who helped deliver peace to this broken world.

I think about sacrifice many times and how each of us sacrifice something to achieve our desires. Clementine Churchill did just that. She was determined that her husband Winston was destined for great things. She saw his weaknesses along with his strengths and help build the man that he became when the world needed him. With the first person narrative, Clementine life purpose becomes Churchill. She is involved politically and is behind his speeches. Winston is strongly influenced by his wife calls her his secret weapon. It is her directness that Winston gravitates towards and embraces. Her relationship to her children was pitiful. She was not a nurturing mother type and her children paid the price. However, she was an advocate for the Russian children affected by the war.

There was many surprises for me on this narrative. I enjoyed getting to know a bit of history and the woman behind the man.

A Special Thank you to SourceBooks and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

Marvelous information about Mrs. Churchill who I never heard mentioned before. So full of insight of the relationships and history of this era. A great read!

Different point of view for WW1 and WW2 from Lady Clementine's experience...also know as Mrs Winston Churchill. Interesting to hear about Clementine's involvement with her husband's career. Lady Clementine was a force in Winston's career but sadly their children paid the price. I really enjoyed reading and learning about this time in history.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was the first book I have read about Clementine Churchill, fiction or otherwise. To be honest, I was curious to read about her because my daughter is also named Clementine.

The story starts with Clementine in her early 20s, meeting and marrying Winston Churchill and beginning their life together. Not only are they partners in marriage, but in their political aspirations as well. Though of course, she must be content to live out her aspirations through him, as she is a woman in early 20th century Britain. He relies on her for nearly everything - in addition to helping him write letters and speeches, she also runs their household and has children.

While the story in itself is interesting - she was truly a powerful force - I disliked how the story kept jumping large chunks of time. It went from their meeting, to them being engaged, to the wedding, and to after the honeymoon, with little or nothing in between. I felt like large parts of her story, of what would make me relate to her, were omitted. And because of that, I felt disengaged.

I am, however, going to read the biography of her that I have on my shelves as well because I am curious to know more about her.

I cannot believe it took me this long to pick up a book by Marie Benedict. The experience of reading one of her books was so unique and wonderful. I’ve heard such great things regarding her books and how she writes about and brings light to famous women’s stories throughout history that have often been more or less left untold, and I’m just so glad I finally picked one up for myself. I was blown away by this author’s ability to so thoroughly draw the reader into the story of Clemmmie’s life (in particular the years from the beginning of her marriage through WWII), which was clearly impeccably researched and rooted in fact... and then filling in any gaps with believable and realistic dialogue and circumstantial details.

I will say, it took me a minute to become invested in this book, but once I was in I WAS IN. First and foremost, Lady Celementine simply and completely opened my eyes to the incredible, determined, and bold woman that Clementine Churchill was. I went into this book knowing next to nothing about her. I so admired how she came alongside her husband Winston in his political and wartime roles, and broke through walls that had been in place as she decided she would most definitely have a voice in a place it wasn’t necessarily welcome. Holy moly, this story of her life from her marriage to motherhood, to her contributions to society and helping others, inspired me so much and left me with much to think about and take away with me.

Lady Clementine was an interesting, memorable read for me and is one I’d definitely recommend for all of you other historical fiction fans. I think there’s a good chance you’d enjoy it just as much as I did.