Member Reviews
There are a few reasons why this audiobook completely worked for me. First, I love listening to non fiction, I haven't been able to find the right fiction genre to work for me in audio form, still on the hunt. I also love all things royal or royal adjacent and Winston Churchill was surely royal adjacent and to hear more about his family was so interesting. I also love history, so to hear about Winston's daughters but also more about the events of the time was just great.
About this book. I went into this book knowing nothing about Churchill's family from his wife to his daughters, so all of this book was new information to me. To hear about the strong women that were in his family and the things they did to support him and his efforts, but also the way he encouraged each of them to have their own avenues - I loved it! I knew nothing about his wife and while this book didn't focus on her, she made appearances and this book inspired me to go find out more and read more about the woman who stood beside such an influential man.
This book accompanied me on car rides to run errands, many hours cleaning the house, and some time prepping the garden for this year! I love how an audiobook can join you in life and it feels like you are accomplishing so many things at once.
I received an audio copy of The Churchill Sisters from the publisher through NetGalley for an honest opinion.
Winston and Clementine had 5 children - 4 daughters of whom one died in early childhood and a son. This book deals with the daughters. Frankly I didn’t like the women in the family. What surprised me is the entire family had mental problems. If they didn’t have the name Churchill, they wouldn’t have accomplish squat. I recently read a book about Clementine. In my opinion she was a terrible mother. Nowonders the children had problems in their adult life.
2 stars.
The Churchill Sister by Dr. Rachel Trethewey is and in-depth look at the daughters of Winston and Clementine Churchill. We see how the daughters had a special bond with their father and how each was strong of character. It is interesting to see how the lives of the three daughters varied so much and the impact they had on their father.
A great read for anyone interested in the subject. Very well researched on individuals who did not get center stage in their family. There were many aspects of the womens’ lives that are not common knowledge including mental health when this was not a common topic.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this copy in exchange for an honest review. Fantastic narration by Juliet Stevenson.
I think this book was a very engaging read (actually listen) with bouts of dull moments in between. I highly recommend the audiobook seeing as actually reading the paper book was too much for me. Great for fans of Winston Churchill or British history. Although, I think anyone could pick it up and enjoy.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
*I received this book for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
An extremely thorough book!
This used very technical wording with tons of fillers. I found myself avoiding this book because of how tired it made me. If this was a project to read this, I would take the F. I felt like I was reading essay after essay. And some of it was kind of confusing.
I can say, they did research. However, unless you are a Churchill fanatic, I can't see someone being interested in this one for long. I listened to some of the audiobook but could not get far into it because of the tone being very dull.
Thank you Macmillan Audio for the arc!
Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and the author for an advance audio copy of this book for review. This is a nonfiction account of Winston Churchill’s three daughters and the unique and individual relationships they each had with their father. A fourth daughter, Marigold, tragically passed away at the age of two. The sisters had one brother, Randolph. Diana, Sarah and Mary were very different from each other and led very different lives. The one thing they did share was their great love and respect for their father. Each daughter offered support to her father in her own individual way at various points in his personal and public lives. The sisters led very full lives with great highs as well as great lows. This is a very well researched book and gives the reader much insight into Great Britain, indeed, into the world, during the early to mid twentieth century. This audio book flows well and transitions easily between chapters. The narrator has a pleasant voice which is well suited to the subject matter. Readers who are interested in British history will definitely want to put this book on their must read list.
I never thought, I would be somebody will be interested, in Winston Churchill family. but here we are. This book was insanely fascinating. Well written extremely well researched. Enjoyable and fun
If you enjoy British History or if you are a fan of Winston Churchill this is a book you'll want to check out!
Full admission of guilt- I knew really nothing about Winston, Clementine, or the rest of the Churchill family save for what was shown on The Crown. I tend not to wade into politics, and obviously that is what he is known for. However, this biography of his daughters is one of the most interesting books published in 2021.
Much like the Mitford sisters, each of Winston and Clementine’s children were radically different. Their daughters in particular took very different routes in life, and had very different relationships with their parents. I found their life trajectories the most interesting aspect of the book, though! Many people will be interested in their service during the Second World War, but I found their lives after far more interesting. Specifically, Sarah’s career as an actress was fascinating, and I think if you enjoy the Golden Age of Cinema, you will love reading about her.
Note: this is more of an academic biography- there are footnotes to your heart’s content. However, it still reads like fiction, and you don’t need any sort of background to enjoy it.
Winston and Clementine Churchill had 5 children, Randolph and 4 girls, Diana, Sarah, Marigold and Mary.
This book, by Dr. Rachel Trethewey, is an intimate and detailed depiction of the daughter’s lives, with, particular attention paid to, the contributions made by both Winston and Clementine to their daughter’s lives. Clementine struggled in her relationships with her daughters (mostly), whereas, Winston was a much more reliable (consistent, and positive) father.
Because their surname was Churchill, the bar was set high from the outset. Winston Churchill as much as he wanted to (and tried), was unable to save his daughters from their individual fates. It was shocking (for me) to read about the many disappointments and tragedies the Churchills faced 😢. Their name did not spare them. Nonetheless, there were also happy, proud and successful contibutions made by Churchill’s daughters, in politics and theater and philanthropy.
This is a fascinating look into the lives of Churchill’s Daughters. I accompanied the book with the audiobook, narrated by @realjulietstevenson (loved it!).
Thank you #netgalley and @stmartinspress for the ebook, and @macmillan.audio for the audiobook, in return for my honest review. #5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#thechurchillsisters
Thank you 🙏🏻 @meeshmush.
Well-written historical fiction. I’m a Churchill fan and found this look at his daughters fascinating.
Thoroughly enjoyed. The story is beautifully written. The author did a fantastic job of showing the relationships between each sibling, their Mom and Dad, as well as every combination. The story flowed seamlessly. This book showcases political, social and familial favors and discords.
I suspected this might read like a text book, I am pleased to be wrong. I loved how the story was told.
Thank you NetGalley for accepting my request to read and review The Churchill Sisters.
#DrRachelTrethewey
#NarratorJulietStevenson
#Macmillan Audio
#StMartinsPress
#TheChurchillSisters
Juliet Stevenson does a great job of narrating this one. She is easy to listen to and keeps the story engaging.
I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I like to take a biography every once in a while and Churchill isn't someone I know a lot about so I figured why not. I loved the candid no nonsense view of the family. Dr. Trethewey doesn't hesitate to show their flaws as well as all the great stuff about the entire family. They seemed like great women and it was nice to learn about how being the daughter of such a huge personality affected them.
Not just for history buffs. I found this novel engaging. It offers an intimate look at the personal life of one of the greatest men in history, Winston Churchill and his family, while focusing on the daughters.
Thank you #NetGalley, #MacmillanAudio, #Dr,RuthTrethewey, #JulietStevenson and #TheChurchillSisters for the advance audiobook for my honest review.
I really didn’t know anything about the Churchhill sisters going into this, so I definitely learned a lot! The sisters’ stories are interesting. I found it particularly interesting how the different family members responded to the outbreak of war and fascism during Hitler’s time in power.
This is incredibly well researched, and I liked that the author relied heavily on primary sources like letters. I also really appreciated how the author compared experiences in the sisters’ lives to the norms of that time period for context.
I listened to this book on audio and really enjoyed the narrator. Her voice was perfect and brought the stories and history to life.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to review this audiobook!
I've always admired Winston Churchill, so I found it intriguing to learn more about his family. Winston was a loving and involved father with all his children.
I always thought Clementine, Winston's wife, was the backbone of the family, but this book shed light that Clementime was not. While her children were young and growing up, Clementine was not as involved. After all these years, I found Clementine to be a fisappointing figure.
I loved the story of each daughter and it's sad to know they were critiqued on everything they did, because of who their father was.
If you enjoy British history, I recommend this book!
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I looked forward to reading this because I have always admired Winston Churchill but knew little about his family and home life. The title is a little deceptive. It doesn't just focus on the Churchill sisters, but on his whole family. It exposed a side I knew nothing about.
The book was well-researched and went into great detail from birth to death of all five of the Churchill children. It even detailed most of their spouses and, of course, Winston and his wife, Clementine. If you are interested at all in British history, I highly recommend this biography.
Absolutely loved this book. I'm starting to get more into non fiction audiobooks as a compliment and alternative to podcasts I listen to. I know a lot about Winston Churchill, but never knew all that much about his family. This was a fascinating and well researched look into the lives of the Churchill women, and the author did a wonderful job telling their stories and giving readers/listeners a glimpse into what their lives were like. I'd love to read more by this author in the future, and would recommend the book or audiobook to anyone interested in British history or Winston Churchill.
This was a well researched biography about the Churchill sisters. I was hoping for more of a story-telling approach instead of just facts and timelines presented to me. It was well done though.
I enjoyed this. It's a unique take.
Review copy provided by publisher.
(short reviews are my thing)