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Mary Soames

Daughter's Tale: The Memoir of Winston and Clementine Churchill's Youngest Child Hardcover – January 1, 2011

by Mary Soames (Author), Illus. with photos (Illustrator)

4.3 136 ratings

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Now in her eighty-ninth year, Mary Soames is the only surviving child of Winston and Clementine Churchill. Younger than her siblings by several years, she went to day school and enjoyed an idyllic childhood played out in her very own 'Garden of Eden' - Chartwell. Here she roamed house and grounds, tended diligently to her collection of pets, and had her first glimpses of the glittering social world in which her parents moved. Then, in 1939, Chamberlain's declaration of war dramatically ended this world as she and her family had known it. Hereafter we follow Mary's life through her fascinating personal diary, published here for the first time. Through the immediacy of her private observations we are drawn into a world where the ordinary minutiae of a packed family, social and romantic life proceed against a background of cataclysmic events. Joining the ATS and serving in mixed anti-aircraft batteries, Mary takes on her own set of professional demands while sharing the many anxieties and stresses brought to bear upon her family through her father's position. The mutual love and affection between Mary and her parents is evident on every page, from her earliest years at Chartwell to Winston's defeat at the 1945 general election, when Mary recounts her own pain and devastation on her father's behalf. At this point she meets her future husband, Christopher Soames. We are left in no doubt at the end of this charming and revealing memoir that, at twenty-four, Mary has lived a full life and is well prepared for her future as young wife and mother.

Print length

402 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Doubleday
Publication date

January 1, 2011
Dimensions

6.34 x 1.46 x 9.45 inches
ISBN-10

0385604483
ISBN-13

978-0385604482
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Doubleday; First Edition (January 1, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 402 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0385604483
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385604482
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.63 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.34 x 1.46 x 9.45 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,587,539 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #239,395 in Biographies (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 136 ratings

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Mary Soames

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Mary Soames (1922-2014) was born Mary Spencer-Churchill, the youngest of Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine's five children. Her wartime diaries are collected in Mary Churchill’s War, edited by her daughter, Emma Soames.

Mary Soames also wrote an acclaimed biography of her mother, Clementine Churchill (first published in 1979) and edited Speaking for Themselves, a collection of the personal letters between Winston and Clementine Churchill. Her memoir A Daughter’s Tale was published in 2011, three years before her death.

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Frank

A good read.

Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2021

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I thoroughly enjoyed reading this! It is well written and the author's vocabulary is quite impressive. As noted by another reviewer a memoir by the relative of a celebrity-if Winston Churchill can be called that-is either a disgusting tell-all or a whitewash. This, fortunately, is neither of those. The author pretty much sticks to her life and relates to the reader about her birth and upbringing to shortly after WWII to where she's married. She's not afraid to tell where she may or may not have her shortcomings but the book is all the better for it. She goes on to tell what it's like to serve in an anti-aircraft battery as well as accompanying her father on some of his diplomatic trips and conferences.

As I stated I enjoyed this book and I would recommend it if anyone were to ask.

2 people found this helpful

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Word Maven

Mary Churchill Soames Charming Childhood and Brave Service to Her Country

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2022

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I read this book for pleasure and thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the Churchills’ lives at home and during war. It shows the dedication and love between Mary (the youngest daughter) and her parents and their bravery during WWII.

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I H M.

Focus mostly on the author, and not enough on winston.

Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2020

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With irritating regularity, the author displays her knowledge of French by frequently using phrases and whole sentences in the language. Like many who will have read this book, I do not speak French, and felt that the author should have used our rich english language to record her thoughts.

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Veronica White

Review of: A Daughter's Tale: The Memoir of Winston & Clementine Churchill's youngest daughter

Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2013

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I thoroughly enjoyed Churchill's youngest daughter's memoir,as I was able to gain insight into the life and memories of his youngest daughter. As I was born after WWII, it was interesting to follow the events as experienced by Mary and to share the emotions of the Churchill family in relation to family issues and the war.There is no doubt that this was a devoted family and their love for each other is expressed strongly in the many letters they exchanged. I recommend this book.

4 people found this helpful

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ELIZABETH BRADSHAW

Fascinating book

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2014

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This book is well worth the 5 stars I have given it. It is a fascinating "behind the scenes" look at the 2nd world war from a young woman, who was herself helping to defend Britain, who also was at the periphery of incredibly important decisions being made by her father, Winston Churchill. Her comments and views on a number of Winston Churchill's key decisions and aides were so interesting.

5 people found this helpful

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David J. B. Singer, MD

Mary Churchill Soams the daughter of winston is beautiful, very bright

Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2016

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Mary Churchill Soams the daughter of winston is beautiful, very bright, and led an incredibly interesting life, as she was an almost constant companion of her father when he was making diplomatic contacts which included FDR, Stalin, and others. Very interesting.

4 people found this helpful

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Anne Nelson

I am enjoying this autobiography by Mary Churchill-Soames. It ...

Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2015

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I am enjoying this autobiography by Mary Churchill-Soames. It is interesting to engage in upper British norms at the time and to contrast with todays American societal attitudes. It is interesting observing the family dynamics and the type of person and father Winston Churchill was.

4 people found this helpful

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Patricia

The book arrived looking almost like new, although it was a used book

Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2016

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The book arrived looking almost like new, although it was a used book. Mary Soames gives an interesting description about her life as Winston and Clementine Churchill's youngest daughter, growing up in England prior to WW II and wartime.

2 people found this helpful

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Alan and Jan

A great read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 4, 2022

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The book gives an insight into the family life of Churchhill and thewhole family. Mummy seems to spend her life on foriegn holidays, the daughter whilst persuing a wartime career but shows how useful it is to have friends in high places (I know a regular soldier who fought in Cyprus and Suez coming under fire whilst in the Parachut Regiment who started as a private and finised as a private and had to buy his campaign medals), Randolf is revealled as a total disaster whlst most of the daughters (and friends) seen unable to form stable relationships.

The book shows the importance of Churchill in being an icon in leading the nation and also forming connections with the USA which persuaded them to declare war on Germany. Witout their and his involvement it is far from certain the allies whould have won.

Amazon Customer

Eye-witness to history...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 14, 2014

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This is a memoir / part-autobiography of Winston and Clementine Churchill’s youngest child Mary from her birth in 1922 to her marriage in 1947. The memoir focuses almost entirely on her father’s political career, with particular emphasis on his crucial and pivotal role as Prime Minister in WW2. This is viewed from first a domestic and later participatory perspective, after Mary joins the army and is occasionally summoned to travel with her father as an aide.

It is full of insights into the workings of the Churchill family, her love and respect for her father, how after an uneasy start she grew very close to her mother, and her determination to do something for the war effort herself, when so easily she might have been little more than an onlooker. Her pride in Winston’s achievements and anguish when he falls ill, or things are going badly is plainly on view. Her aching sadness when he loses the first post-war election is tangible, and the more moving for being related dispassionately.

Mary’s relationship with friends, relatives, and household staff – who usually were also seen as friends – is described in personal terms and often includes vignettes direct from her diaries. Family pets get a mention, and the passages describing how the family bends over backwards to ensure the comfort of a remarkable cat are a delight. Internal family disputes, often vitriolic, are also recalled. Many major public figures of the time are described, and we are rarely left in doubt about Mary’s opinion of them.
The style is elegant and economical. The author conveys meaning with a minimum number of words, and as such many passages might be text book examples of the art of writing. Guest lists and entries in visiting books are often reproduced, and unavoidably some are quite repetitive.

I found this a gripping, entertaining and often moving excursion into how a family with a strong sense of duty chose to exercise it. It is a well illustrated valuable historical archive and a moving description of love, disappointment, failure, and success in one of the most famous and celebrated households of the 20th century.

It is also a very good and special read.

One person found this helpful

Diana

An Excellent Memoir

Reviewed in Germany on June 18, 2013

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I am thrilled to have read this book. It is part biography and part memoir. It took me back in time to enjoy the life of the Churchill's youngest surviving daughter. She was a charming child,growing up at Chartwell,the family's country house in Ken, where she had may animals and pets which she looked after herself. It was there that she started to keep a personal diary which she kept up most of her life. She quotes passages from this book in this book.
As she grew into womanhood her love of her parents became stronger, particularly that of her father. With the declaration of war in 1939 her "Garden of Eden" was shattered and she joined the ATS in 1941, and trained in mixed anti -aircraft batteries. She became thrown into the world of war in which her whole family was involved. At this time she became involved in many of her father's visits and became his ADC frequently.
In 1945 she was awarded the MBE (military cross). In 1947 she married Captain Christopher Soames of the Coldstream Guards while England slowly began to return to peace.
Her book is well re-cherished and the reader meets many of the top people who helped Churchill win the war.

One person found this helpful

fourwinds

Well written

Reviewed in Canada on July 18, 2021

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This was a wonderful intimate glimpse of life in the Churchill home during the time the world was in conflict. A lovely look into the close relationship between father and daughter.

Leila Buheiry

A heartfelt testimony of a period

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 11, 2021

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I liked Mary Chruchill's description of her life dotted with famous people, her childhood at Chartwell and her life in the army during the war. Hers was a charmed life both at Chartwell and as the daughter of a famous and powerful man.

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Daughter's Tale: The Memoir of Winston and Clementine Churchill's Youngest Child Hardcover – January 1, 2011

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