The Paris Wife meets PBS’s Victoria in this enthralling novel of the life and loves of one of history’s most remarkable women: Winston Churchill’s scandalous American mother, Jennie Jerome. Wealthy, privileged, and fiercely independent New Yorker Jennie Jerome took Victorian England by storm when she landed on its shores. As Lady Randolph Churchill, she gave birth to a man who defined the … to a man who defined the twentieth century: her son Winston. But Jennie—reared in the luxury of Gilded Age Newport and the Paris of the Second Empire—lived an outrageously modern life all her own, filled with controversy, passion, tragedy, and triumph.
When the nineteen-year-old beauty agrees to marry the son of a duke she has known only three days, she’s instantly swept up in a whirlwind of British politics and the breathless social climbing of the Marlborough House Set, the reckless men who surround Bertie, Prince of Wales. Raised to think for herself and careless of English society rules, the new Lady Randolph Churchill quickly becomes a London sensation: adored by some, despised by others.
Artistically gifted and politically shrewd, she shapes her husband’s rise in Parliament and her young son’s difficult passage through boyhood. But as the family’s influence soars, scandals explode and tragedy befalls the Churchills. Jennie is inescapably drawn to the brilliant and seductive Count Charles Kinsky—diplomat, skilled horse-racer, deeply passionate lover. Their affair only intensifies as Randolph Churchill’s sanity frays, and Jennie—a woman whose every move on the public stage is judged—must walk a tightrope between duty and desire. Forced to decide where her heart truly belongs, Jennie risks everything—even her son—and disrupts lives, including her own, on both sides of the Atlantic.
Breathing new life into Jennie’s legacy and the glittering world over which she reigned, That Churchill Woman paints a portrait of the difficult—and sometimes impossible—balance among love, freedom, and obligation, while capturing the spirit of an unforgettable woman, one who altered the course of history.
Praise for That Churchill Woman
“The perfect confection of a novel . . . We’re introduced to Jennie in all of her passion and keen intelligence and beauty. While she is surrounded by a cast of late-Victorian celebrities, including Bertie, Prince of Wales, it’s always Jennie who shines and takes the center stage she was born to.”—Melanie Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Aviator’s Wife and The Swans of Fifth Avenue
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Strong, unconventional, beautiful, smart—Jennie Jerome Churchill, was this and more. Mother of Winston, daughter of a wealthy American businessman, wife of a syphilic member of Parliament, Jennie defied most of the rules imposed on the women of her era. While she feared being cut out of British society and her friendship with the Royals, she carried on numerous affairs yet remained fiercely loyal to her husband.
This is a fascinating look at the life of a woman who was a child during the American Civil War who then spent most of her life in the palaces of Europe. It seems she was allowed her peccadillos because she was an American and could not be expected to act properly.
Barron’s research was phenomenal and noteworthy. The story slides smoothly between the eras and the politics and social norms of the times. The book is a feast, a story to be enjoyed and savored. A not-to-miss read.
The last 10 years of historical fiction has cycled through an awful lot of famous men’s wives, but what about their mothers? Barron takes on the irresistible figure of Winston Churchill’s American-born mother, Jennie Jerome. Scandalously modern and ambitious, the woman who became Lady Randolph Churchill makes rich material for Barron’s novel, which is as lively and spirited as the woman who inspired it.
Loved the novel. Favorite parts of the novel included scenes with the future Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.
This latest by Stephanie Barron features complex characters that although based on the real life of Jennie Spencer-Churchill, American heiress and mother of Winston Churchill, THAT CHURCHILL WOMAN is scintillating historical fiction. Wow—to have lived such a life! As with her same deft pen used in the Jane Austen Mystery series, Barron’s incomparable research is ever apparent and adds to the richness of her story.
After losing her sister Camille at a young age, having cheated death herself, Jennie Jerome grew into a forward thinking woman who lived a large life, “lived her best life” as we would say now, regretting little. Her father, Leonard Jerome, told her then, “The only way to fight death, Jennie, is to live. You’ve got to do it for two people now—yourself and Camille. Take every chance you get. Do everything she didn’t get to do. Live two lives in the space of one. I’ll back you to the hilt.”
As an American heiress, she dazzled the British aristocracy and other European elite—“I cannot be one of them, after all. Much better to be the best possible version of myself”—and for a time they loved her verve. Living by certain axioms of London Society such as “Sleep where you like, but be in your own bed by morning” served her well…until it didn’t. She was a keeper of secrets and knew how to manage the men in her life, especially her husband Lord Randolph Spencer-Churchill. Her longtime love affair with Austria’s Prince Karl (Charles) Kinsky reads like tantalizing fiction…that left me rather melancholy for the both of them.
Even the most astute historical fiction readers will be caught off guard by the provocative and engaging prose and insights of this surprisingly powerful and intriguing woman during a colorful era. THAT CHURCHILL WOMAN is not to be missed!
I’ll admit that I do not know a lot about Winston Churchill except knowing that he was Britain’s prime minister for awhile and was a brilliant man in his own right, so when I picked up That Churchill Woman I figured I would learn more about where Winston came from, and I learned that and so much more.
Jennie Jerome, or Lady Randolph Churchill, lived a life not of her own choosing. Losing her sister at a very young age, who also happened to be her best friend, then marrying a man with deep, dark secrets; having to put her wants and needs aside to help her husband live out his dream, while trying to be the best mother that she can under the circumstances. Extramarital affairs were commonplace among the wealthy, which allowed Jennie to have her personal needs met, but this took her away from her two young sons, and gave her an unsavory reputation.
Jennie’s story is disturbing and heartbreaking. Stephanie Barron did an incredible job of describing every detail, pulling you into that world. There were scenes that were incredibly hard to read due to the graphic nature and unbelievable detail, yet fascinating that these horrific instances could’ve possibly happened.
Stephanie Barron’s years of research shines on every page and gave me a craving to know more about the Churchill family. Deeply thought provoking, this is a book that is hard to put down. The ending was especially gratifying and filled with sweet freedom on numerous levels, which leaves the reader with a sigh of relief.
Though incredibly graphic at times, That Churchill Woman is a story about a woman who shined despite being in almost constant conflict and scandal, and worth knowing more about. She was more than Lady Randolph Churchill. She was Jennie, a woman who did what she could and never gave up.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Ballantine Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. All opinions are my own.
What a subject for a novel! And what a read for anyone interested in the lives of women who have, until now, been largely unexplored. Barron’s immersive and richly detailed story gives a fascinating glimpse into the lives of society women, as well as the early life of Winston Churchill himself.
I thoroughly enjoy historical fiction. The author, Stephanie Barron, tells the story of Jennie Jerome Churchill set in multiple time periods of Jennie’s life. The author’s research was extensive. Parts of the book were compelling. However, for me, I did not connect with this story. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was interesting and information biographical fiction except I’m unsure how much was fiction. Prefatory information seems to indicate a lot is fictionalized but there are a lot of sources and notes at the end. Did not know much about Jennie Churchill other than what I read in a biography a long time ago.
That Churchill Woman, a novel written by Stephanie Barron, focuses on the life Jennie Jerome, a Brooklyn-born heiress whose world of wealth and privilege is filled with disillusionment and despair.
For the complete review, go to http://www.kindredconnection.wordpress.com/2018/12/26/that-churchill-woman.