Darling Monster: The Letters of Lady Diana Cooper to her Son John Julius Norwich 1939-1952, Chatto & Windus, 2013, 520pp.
Lady Diana Duff Cooper had a penetrating mind and brilliant pen, capable of capturing a time when women considered the world laden with opportunity for fulfillment.
She proved this with her famous seven-year performance in Max Reinhardt’s “The Miracle.” Her “Winston and Clementine,” first published in The Atlantic just after Sir Winston’s death, was as fine a tribute to the Churchill marriage as we are likely to encounter.Her collaboration with her husband’s ambassadorship to France was notable.…
While I received no extra pay for writing the Kaiser-Frazer book, I did have the use of an expense account for travel. That was where Bill Tilden came through again. He helped me track down and interview many of people responsible for the cars Kaiser-Frazer built. Others were located through the deep tentacles of Automobile Quarterly, its contacts in the industry. We also searched for archives large and small.
Our greatest archival find was at Kaiser Industries in Oakland, California: the Kaiser-Frazer photo files, placed on loan for AQ’s use.…
“Current Contentions” was delivered at Hillsdale College’s Center for Constructive Alternatives seminar on “Churchill and the Movies,” 27 March 2019. For the video, please click here.
Edited transcript: The original speech included certain subjects covered earlier and elsewhere. These are summarized below, and provided with links to the original texts. The video, which is unabridged, includes questions and answers with the audience.
Churchill’s World of 1932Eighty-seven years ago, Churchill was here in Michigan, in Detroit, Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor, on a U.S. lecture tour. East, west, north, and south he rode the rails, “living all day on my back in a railway compartment and addressing in the evening large audiences.”…
whyBeginning ten years ago with a flawed account of the 1943 Bengal Famine, and fanned by a small cadre of influential writers, Churchill has been slandered with the label of white supremacist. A colleague to whom I often turn for wisdom has a thoughtful judgment on this and other dubious accusations. “In a controversial time, an understanding of Churchill is very difficult to achieve. That is because the life of Churchill is an important thing. And every important thing is highly controversial today.”
Excerpted from an article for the Hillsdale College Churchill Project. For the complete text, click here.…
Butterflies are back in force at Sir Winston Churchill’s Chartwell. In 2009, the National Trust rebuilt the butterfly hut and gardener Stephen Humphrey took charge of raising butterflies. Nigel Guest, a Chartwell volunteer, immediately reported “a terrific year for butterflies.” For his report and color photos of Churchill’s favorite species see BBC Radio Kent, “Churchill’s Butterfly House at Chartwell.”
David Riddle, a National Trust volunteer at Chartwell, gave me the background of the “Butterfly House” Churchill established to propagate the insects on the grounds of his home:
The Butterfly House was first used as a game larder between 1869 and 1889 by the Colquhoun family, who owned Chartwell between 1830 and 1922, when Churchill bought the estate.…
The Hudson Institute economist Irwin Stelzer penned an interesting article on trade: “Trump girds for War with EU.” I sent it around to colleagues, praising it for properly attributing an alleged Churchill quote:
No one doubts that Trump is gearing up to launch a tariff battle with the European Union. For one thing, he is set to sign a deal ending the trade battle with China, and would not be fighting a two-front war should he take on Europe which, he tweeted last week, “has taken advantage of the U.S.…
A friend sends a letter from a planning firm, “reaching out” to his homeowners association. The planners seek a consultant contract. They promise “awesome” results. Their proposals are so full of jargon that my friend wondered what Churchill would make of it. The letter contains many sentences Churchill would have deplored:
“The committee tasked us with the planning and completion of an inclusive and productive process.”
“General understanding offers guidance for the implementation committee.”
And: “An outward and honest marketing position achieves awesome goals…”
“Tasked,” of course, is a new verb, converted from the noun “task” by modern Newspeak.…
