The ubiquitous cigar. The Homburg hat. The pugnacious spirit. The famous speeches. The V for victory sign. These recognizable emblems of Winston Churchill instantly evoke the famous British icon credited with leading his country to victory in World War II. I encountered the legendary statesman and his pervasive symbols over and over again as I researched my novel The Only Woman in the Room, which takes place, in part, during World War II. But, as often happens when I’m down the rabbit hole of research, I began to wonder about the women—in this case, one woman in particular. Did Churchill undertake his famous work alone? Where was his wife of more than three decades during the fabled events of World War II? What was she like? These questions began to plague me, and I became intrigued by the idea of Clementine Churchill.
I took a short detour in my research about Hedy Lamarr to investigate Clementine Churchill. From the moment I dipped into her unusual background and read about the first time she met Winston, I was hooked by this bright, complicated, loyal, bold, and sometimes contentious woman. Her legacy was important yet largely unknown, and I knew I needed to tell my version of Clementine’s story next.
As I followed her life and her relationship with Winston through the research, I realized that Winston wasn’t alone during World War II—even though he’s always pictured that way—but that Clementine was standing by his side all along, guiding him in his decision-making, influencing governmental leaders toward their shared goals, helping him navigate the tricky landscape of colleagues and staff, raising their children, and ensuring his well-being. I learned that she shared the burden of leadership not only during World War II, but in World War I as well, and she bolstered him all the years in between. Lady Clementine explores the tumultuous relationships and life of Clementine Churchill and hopefully brings out from the shadows into the light of modern day her potentially world-changing contributions.
But the more I learned about Clementine’s personality and the role she played in her relationship with Winston, the more I came to see that she was iconic in her own right. A woman with a natural, keen interest in political issues—in particular, women’s right to vote and the Liberal Party’s social and humanitarian issues—she was stymied by her era’s proscriptions on women’s overt involvement in the political realm. When she married Winston, with whom she shared a passion for politics, she plunged into his political world in a manner that was unprecedented for its time. Carving out a unique role both behind the scenes and, to a limited extent, before the public, she rose up and claimed a political space that society told her she could not do. In asserting her own power—even if it derived from Winston—she wielded it for the good of the British people in wartime and for women in general. We may still be reaping the benefits of her labors today.
As Clementine assumed the mantle of leadership, she had to overcome her own hesitations and self-doubt to claim this opportunity and fulfill her long-held convictions about women’s rights and social issues, thereby serving as an inspiration on many levels. In light of this, I can’t help but wonder what more she might have ventured and accomplished had the strictures of her time been different. In an era more encouraging of women’s ambitions, might Clementine Churchill have been a highly visible political participant rather than a largely invisible but otherwise mighty force? I’ll leave that question to you now.