Paul Addison
Prime Scribbler
Mr Churchill’s Profession: Statesman, Orator, Writer
By Peter Clarke
Bloomsbury 347pp £20 order from our bookshop
Churchill the statesman had a lifelong ally in Churchill the writer. The statesman won office and power but a ministerial salary never covered more than a fraction of the costs of a Churchillian lifestyle. It was the huge sums he commanded as a journalist and author that enabled him to enter the House of Commons and support a wife, family and substantial household, not to mention magnums of champagne. But his writings were also an integral part of his politics – advertising his name, vindicating his record, and publicising his ideas.
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