By Charlotte Muhlrad
The Splendid and the Vile brings light to the life of Winston Churchill during the Blitz starting in 1940. But the book demonstrates not just the efforts of one man, but that of the British nation as a whole to survive the German air raid attacks. Churchill took over as Prime Minister in 1940, while the United States was still hesitant to join the Second World War. The British alone had to withstand the Germans’ bombing – thousands of victims lost their lives, including children. Cities were devastated.
Erik Larsen, author of the acclaimed In the Garden of Beasts, writes about the utter destruction of the English town of Plymouth. The bombings left Churchill completely distraught. He toured Plymouth, determined for a solution. He dedicated research efforts to building a radar that would detect the German bombers, but to Churchill’s dismay, these efforts dragged slowly.
The fruit of Larsen’s labor is nothing short of spectacular. He has scoured diaries, journals, letters; it appears he used every piece of research that he could get his hands on. His writing is poignant, keeping and safeguarding the reader’s attention. Some may find history a dull genre, but trhough his portrayal of Winston Churchill, Larsen shows that stubbornness pays.
One curiosity is the book’s abrupt ending. Some may feel critical of Churchill, and I would understand, but it Is also difficult to deny that he was the right man in the right place. I am grateful history brought Churchill to that place, because if he had not resisted the Germans, Europe would perhaps look entirely different today. My family, victims of the Nazis’ atrocities, would perhaps have ceased to exist. But instead, because of Churchill, some of us survived.
Erik Larsen quotes Churchill’s gratitude towards his country’s young soldiers, “Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.” Mr. Churchill, I owe you that gratitude.
