​One of the most written-about individuals from British history would have to be Winston Churchill and apart from a couple of biographies on his wife, Clementine, very little is known about the women in his life, especially his daughters.
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The Churchills had five children, four girls, Diana, Sarah, Marigold and Mary, and one son, Randolph. The son, as might have been expected, was the one who was groomed to follow in his father’s footsteps as a politician yet was almost a failure and perhaps a disappointment to his father.

One daughter, Marigold, sadly died when just a toddler due in part to an inexperienced nanny's lack of foresight, but the other three are the subject of this book.

Churchill’s famous gene of “black dog depression” would be passed on, but how each child coped with it makes for interesting comparisons.

As the first-born, Diana, had problems in such a dynamic family and her retiring and diffident nature became a trial and would ultimately create mental health issues. Next was Sarah who made a name for herself as an actress on the stage and in movies in Britain and in America. Passionate and talented, she also had her demons, loving the wrong men and fighting a battle with alcohol. The youngest daughter, Mary, was the one who seemed to have weathered the storms the best and helped under the influence of the trustworthy last nanny, Maryatt Whyte, known as Moppett, who raised her to be enterprising and level-headed. Her accomplishments were many, her home and public life far more serene than those of her sisters. 

Although during their early childhood they remained remote from their parents in the manner of high society of the day it was not until much later that Clementine saw the errors of her ways and became closer to her children. In fact, it looks as if Winston was the better parent and he always found the time to have fun with them. Although they had their differences and challenges, he never stopped supporting them. In return, the girls all adored him which shows him in a surprising new light considering his status and also as a father of his time.

Well-researched and insightful, this is a marvellous book for anyone interested in people who live in the shadow of greatness or who just want to discover more about women who have been hidden in that shadow.

Five stars

(Also see my review of “Before Wallis”, Rachel Trethewey’s book on the lady friends of the Duke of Windsor.)


 
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Booktopia

The story of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in Egypt continues to fascinate nearly a century after the event took place. Even though it has been debunked, some still believe there was a curse attached to those individuals who disturbed the Pharaoh's eternal rest. It was archaeologist Howard Carter who did the disturbing, bankrolled mainly by Lord Carnarvon. One of those two did die not long after the tomb was opened, but others who were there on that momentous day when the seals  of the tomb were broken lived on for many more years. Among those others present was Lady Evelyn Herbert (later Beauchamp), daughter of Lord Carnarvon, and this is a fictional retelling of her part in that famous event.

We first meet Evelyn, or Eve, in the early 1970s when she is frail and struggling to recover from a series of strokes. Her memory of the recent past is blank or fading, but she clearly remembers everything that happened fifty years before.

Cared for by her loving husband, Brograve, and daughter, Patricia, she is approached by a stranger, Ana Mansour, who claims to be an Egyptian archaeologist looking for objects allegedly missing from Tutankhamun's tomb and of which she believes Eve knows the whereabouts.

The novel takes rather too long to get to the mystery of the missing pieces although anyone who has seen, or read, recent revelations in print and in television documentaries about what really happened prior to the official opening of the tomb will know that certain items were sneakily appropriated by the discovery team. Some of them ended up in Highclere Castle - Lord Carnarvon's estate, the building familiar to anyone who watched the TV series Downton Abbey - while others disappeared. 

Although she'd fancied she might be an archaeologist herself, Eve's younger self isn't as disciplined or circumspect as that profession requires and she isn't good at keeping secrets. The older Eve is also trusting when she should be more cautious given her state of health and it is her patient husband, Brograve, who is the stable influence.

Curiously, on some levels this novel is more about growing old, dealing with the loss of one's faculties and living in the past than it is about some weird Egyptian curse. This may well make some readers impatient with it especially if they looking for more of a fast-paced thriller but it still has its pluses as a story of a little-known woman who witnessed history in the making.

Three and-a-half Stars

​(With many thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC)

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Mercy Blain’s house in Adelaide burns down and she is traumatised. She has not just lost her home and belongings, but also her refuge from the world for the past two years. Broken by a series of devastating personal events, she has struggled with her mental health.

She accepts temporary accommodation with her ex-husband Eugene and his new lover but knows she can’t possibly stay with them and must try to find a way of breaking out of the anxiety and shadows she has created for herself. When she comes across an elderly man selling a battered 0ld Daihatsu Hijet campervan, with hand-painted flowers on the bodywork and the words ‘Home is wherever you ARE’, she buys it.

Mercy’s spontaneous escape route is partly brought on by trying to dislodge a huntsman spider walking across her windscreen and with her loyal dachshund Wasabi by her side, plus an unexpected box of human ashes under a bench for company, she embarks on her journey of redemption and recovery along the Stuart Highway all the way across Central Australia to Darwin.

With a vehicle that has a top speed of 70 kph and bodywork held together on a wing a prayer, naturally there are hold-ups and diversions along the way. Mercy encounters an assortment of characters including breezy grey nomads, an imagined Outback serial killer and a tabloid journalist who unfortunately recognises her.

She also meets the Scotsman, Andy, who is on his own personal journey and while travelling in tandem with him Mercy finally begins to gain control of the panic attacks that have crippled her life. On the rare occasions her ex-husband manages to contact her - telecommunications being highly unreliable in the Outback- he repeatedly pressures her to return to face the music in an upcoming enquiry but Mercy is determined to complete the journey on her own terms and still make it back on time.

This entertaining and rewarding “road” story has its adventure and whimsy while never shying away from the serious mental health issues that can be brought on by life’s unpredictable events, by stress, and the unreasonable demands of perfection we often place on ourselves. Mercy is a likeable and finely-drawn character, someone with whom many readers will identify and enjoy spending time with. Highly recommended.
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With many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
 
Five stars

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