Viking have announced they will publish J&A author and historian Sinclair McKay’s next work, a biography of Winston Churchill to coincide with the 150th anniversary of his birth in 2024.
Meeting Churchill: A Life in 75 Encounters will be published in hardback in autumn 2023. The blurb reads: ‘This insightful portrait of Winston Churchill delves beyond well-known political moments, incorporating perspectives from various individuals who encountered him throughout his life. From Bletchley Park codebreakers to Hollywood stars, Harold Wilson to Gandhi, these lesser-known interactions reveal glimpses of the man behind the legend.’
‘We meet Churchill the mischievous schoolboy with a penchant for singing obscene songs, and Churchill the elder statesman shedding a tear in the House of Commons smoking room. Other incidents include a young journalist rudely dismissing a call from Churchill as a prank, and a visiting Dwight D Eisenhower dreaming of being strangled, only to awake entangled in Churchill’s borrowed nightshirt.’
Viking said: ‘The book showcases the profound transformations during Churchill’s lifetime, which ran from Benjamin Disraeli’s premiership to the release of the Rolling Stones’ ’Route 66’, and the shift from steam to atomic power. Examining controversial aspects of his legacy, this multifaceted portrait challenges preconceived notions, inviting readers to reconsider the complexities of Churchill.’
‘This is Churchill through the eyes of those who met him, brought to life by Sinclair McKay’s wonderfully vivid writing. It is not only a joy to be in Sinclair’s company on the page, but throughout the publishing process,’ said editorial director Connor Brown. ‘We are so proud to publish him at Viking and look forward to another success together.’
McKay said, ‘There are very few historic figures who absolutely everyone felt they somehow knew; yet in the case of Churchill, a dive into sometimes forgotten archives and memoirs kept by those who met him show us flashes of a man who moved through a thousand different worlds.’
He added: ‘Whether chatting with Charlie Chaplin under rich Hollywood skies, or jousting intellectually over salon dinners with the Bloomsbury group; smoking with Stalin in the Kremlin, dining with his Essex constituents in a Chigwell hostelry, or weekending with Einstein at Chartwell, Churchill – as seen through the eyes of others – emerges as a man on to whom the fears and dreams and passions of a century were projected. It is such a huge privilege to be working once more with the brilliant and inspirational team at Viking: their enthusiasm is authentically Churchillian.’
Photo credit: Liam Bergin