FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For information call: Clifford Laube at (845) 486-7745
The Franklin D. Roosevelt
Presidential Library and Museum presents
"MARY CHURCHILL'S WAR: A Conversation
with Emma Soames and Erik Larson"
Wednesday, June 8, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. EDT
In-person*: Henry A. Wallace Center
at the FDR Presidential Library and Home
[*local health metrics permitting;
Online: Streamed live to the official FDR Library
YouTube, Twitter and Facebook accounts
HYDE PARK, NY -- The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum presents "MARY CHURCHILL'S WAR: A Conversation with Emma Soames and Erik Larson" on Wednesday, June 8, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. EDT. Churchill granddaughter Emma Soames, editor of MARY CHURCHILL'S WAR: THE WARTIME DIARIES OF CHURCHILL’S YOUNGEST DAUGHTER, will speak with bestselling author Erik Larson about her mother's wartime diaries and will be available for a book signing following the program. Copies of the book may be purchased in the New Deal Store. The event will be held in the Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home (local health metrics permitting) and streamed live to the official FDR Library YouTube, Twitter and Facebook accounts. This is a free public event, but registration is required for in-person attendance. CLICK HERE or visit fdrlibrary.org for in-person registration.
Synopsis:
MARY CHURCHILL'S WAR:
THE WARTIME DIARIES OF CHURCHILL’S YOUNGEST DAUGHTER
“I am not a great or important personage, but this will be the diary of an ordinary person’s life in war time. Though I may never live to read it again, perhaps it may not prove altogether uninteresting as a record of my life.” --Mary Churchill
“When I first learned of the existence of Mary Churchill’s diary, I knew that I absolutely had to read it. To read Mary’s diary is to look over her shoulder into her world, and see what she saw, and hear what she heard, as she moved though her days, gracefully coping with the destruction and chaos of those fraught times.” --Erik Larson, from the Foreword
In 1939, seventeen-year-old Mary found herself in an extraordinary position at an extraordinary time: it was the outbreak of World War II and her father, Winston Churchill, had been appointed First Lord of the Admiralty; within months he would become prime minister.
The young Mary Churchill was uniquely placed to observe this remarkable historical moment, and her diaries -- most of which have never been published until now -- provide an immediate view of the great events of the war, as well as exchanges and intimate moments with her father. But these diaries also capture what it was like to be a young woman during wartime.
An impulsive and spirited writer, full of coming-of-age self-consciousness and joie de vivre, Mary's diaries are untrammeled by self-censorship or nostalgia. From aid raid sirens at 10 Downing Street to seeing action with the women’s branch of the British Army, from cocktail parties to accompanying her father on key diplomatic trips (including a White House visit following the Quebec Conference in 1943), Mary’s wartime diaries are rich in historical insight, and a charming and intimate portrait of life alongside Winston Churchill during a key moment of the twentieth century.
About the Author: Mary Churchill was the youngest daughter of Sir Winston and Baroness Clementine Spencer-Churchill. During the war, Mary served in the women's branch of the British Army and as an officer commanding mixed anti-aircraft batteries, for which she was awarded the MBE. After World War II, Mary continued to assist her father and was at Churchill's side during many of the key moments of his premiership. Mary was the author of several books, including a biography of her mother, and was Chair of the National Theatre Board and patron of Churchill organizations and charities worldwide. She died on May 31, 2014.
About the Editor: Emma Soames is a broadcaster and columnist who has been editor of The Literary Review, Tatler, and the Daily Telegraph magazine. She is the second child of Mary and Christopher Soames and is her mother’s Literary Executor and she is a granddaughter of Winston and Clementine Churchill.
Please contact Cliff Laube at (845) 486-7745 with questions about the event.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Presidential Library and Museum
Designed by Franklin Roosevelt and dedicated on June 30, 1941, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum is the nation's first presidential library and the only one used by a sitting president. Administered by the National Archives and Records Administration since 1941, the Library preserves and makes accessible to the American people the records of FDR's presidency. The Roosevelt Library's mission is to foster a deeper understanding of the lives and times of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and their continuing impact on contemporary life. This work is carried out through the Library's archives and research room, museum collections and exhibitions, innovative educational programs, and engaging public programming. For more information about the Library or its programs call (800) 337-8474 or visit www.fdrlibrary.org.
# # #
