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Darkest Hour: How Churchill Brought England Back from the Brink Kindle Edition

by Anthony McCarten (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,911 ratings
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“McCarten's pulse-pounding narrative transports the reader to those springtime weeks in 1940 when the fate of the world rested on the shoulders of Winston Churchill. A true story thrillingly told. Thoroughly researched and compulsively readable.”—Michael F. Bishop, Executive Director of the International Churchill Society

From the acclaimed novelist and screenwriter of The Theory of Everything comes a revelatory look at the period immediately following Winston Churchill’s ascendancy to Prime Minister

“He was speaking to the nation, the world, and indeed to history....”

May, 1940. Britain is at war. The horrors of blitzkrieg have seen one western European democracy after another fall in rapid succession to Nazi boot and shell. Invasion seems mere hours away.

Just days after becoming Prime Minister, Winston Churchill must deal with this horror—as well as a skeptical King, a party plotting against him, and an unprepared public. Pen in hand and typist-secretary at the ready, how could he change the mood and shore up the will of a nervous people?

In this gripping day-by-day, often hour-by-hour account of how an often uncertain Churchill turned Britain around, the celebrated Bafta-winning writer Anthony McCarten exposes sides of the great man never seen before. He reveals how he practiced and re-wrote his key speeches, from ‘Blood, toil, tears and sweat’ to ‘We shall fight on the beaches’; his consideration of a peace treaty with Nazi Germany, and his underappreciated role in the Dunkirk evacuation; and, above all, how 25 days helped make one man an icon.

Using new archive material, McCarten reveals the crucial behind-the-scenes moments that changed the course of history. It’s a scarier—and more human—story than has ever been told.

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  1. Print length
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  5. Publication date
    November 7, 2017
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Editorial Reviews

Review

''McCarten's pulse-pounding narrative transports the reader to those springtime weeks in 1940 when the fate of the world rested on the shoulders of Winston Churchill. Thoroughly researched and compulsively readable, The Darkest Hour is a true story thrillingly told.'' --Michael F. Bishop, Director of the National Churchill Library and Center and Executive Director of the International Churchill Society

From the Back Cover

From the acclaimed novelist and screenwriter of The Theory of Everything comes a revelatory look at the period immediately following Winston Churchill’s ascendancy to Prime Minister—soon to be a major motion picture starring Gary Oldman.

“He was speaking to the nation, the world, and indeed to history.”

May 1940. Britain is at war. The horrors of blitzkrieg have seen one Western European democracy after another fall in rapid succession to Nazi boot and shell. Invasion seems mere hours away.

Just days after becoming prime minister, Winston Churchill must deal with this horror—as well as a skeptical king, a party plotting against him, and an unprepared public. Pen in hand and typist-secretary at the ready, how could he change the mood and shore up the will of a nervous people?

In this gripping day-by-day, often hour-by-hour account of how a sometimes uncertain Churchill turned Britain around, the celebrated BAFTA-winning writer Anthony McCarten exposes sides of the great man never seen before. He reveals how Churchill practiced and rewrote his key speeches, from “Blood, toil, tears, and sweat” to “We shall fight on the beaches”; his consideration of a peace treaty with Nazi Germany and his underappreciated role in the Dunkirk evacuation; and, above all, how twenty-five days helped make one man an icon.

Using new archive material, McCarten explores the crucial behind-the-scenes moments that changed the course of history. It’s a scarier—and more human—story than has ever been told.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B06XZMHNSG
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Perennial; Illustrated edition (November 7, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 7, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3179 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,911 ratings

About the author

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Anthony McCarten

Anthony McCarten

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Anthony McCarten (1961- )is a fiction writer, playwright, and poet.

Anthony McCarten's debut novel, Spinners, won international acclaim, and was followed by The English Harem, award winning Death of a Superhero, and Show of Hands, all four books being translated into fourteen languages.

McCarten has also written twelve stage plays, including the worldwide success Ladies' Night, which won France's Molière Prize, the Meilleure Pièce Comique, in 2001, and Via Satellite, which he adapted into a feature film and directed, premiered at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.

Also a film-maker, he has thrice adapted his own plays or novels into feature films, most recently Death Of A Superhero (2011) which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Anthony divides his time between London and Los Angeles.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
1,911 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Sharon R. Hobbs
5.0 out of 5 stars An Enlightening Hour
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2018
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I was born at the end of the war and my father was a political and history buff. Churchill’s name came up often. This book is well written, thorough, and exciting. I found myself stealing time away to get to the book and race towards reading about the “Darkest Hour.” It was enlightening. This book is a worthy read for students, history and war buffs, and everyone else who enjoys a great book.
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Ronald H. Clark
4.0 out of 5 stars Churchill Becomes Prime Minister in the Face of Almost Certain Disaster
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2017
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Usually, movie tie-in books are a sorry lot lacking substance and depth in handling their subjects. Not so with this solid volume authored by the film's screenwriter. It packs a lot of pertinent information into its 265 pages, and for those not familiar with the historical background to the film, I think it would prove invaluable. The only problem with the book, if it is indeed a problem, is that the author is arguing a thesis which I doubt the facts support. Let me review the organization of the book first before tackling the thesis.

The first chapter sets the historical stage with a discussion of the departure of Neville Chamberlain from serving as Prime Minister in the wake of his policy of appeasement toward Nazi aggression and war breaking out in Europe. The next chapter is a compact but quite effective discussion of Churchill, his background, disasters such as Gallipoli in the First War, reputation for recklessness, and his nearly a decade out of office. Nonetheless, it is to Churchill that Chamberlain and his Foreign Minister, Lord Halifax, turn to assume the role of Prime Minister as disaster increasingly rears its head. Few, including the King, are particularly happy with Winston, but most recognize he is the man to lead Britain during this difficult crisis.

His principal antagonist is Lord Halifax who almost immediately begins trying to undermine Churchill. He is devoted to the idea that immediate negotiation, rather than Winston's determination to fight if necessary. is the only way to avoid a destructive conflict with Hitler. The duel intensifies between the two, but Churchill always has strong public support and that of his War Cabinet coalition partners, the Labour Party and the Liberals, The situation becomes particularly worse with the near fall of France and the need to evacuate the core of the British army from Dunkirk.

It is at this point that Churchill makes his maiden speech as PM to the House--the famous "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" call to action. The author is particularly effective in analyzing this speech in terms of Winston's rhetorical tactics and how he prepared one of his speeches. However, Halifax and his allies continue to pressure Winston to at least explore possible negotiations with Hitler via Mussolini. Churchill is totally opposed to this tactic, and this is where the author lays out his argument that Winston eventually was beaten down to the point of giving serious consideration to this idea.

No historian of which I am aware has ever argued this thesis. Rather, the uniform picture has been a resolute Churchill unwilling to compromise on negotiations and almost defiant. I noticed that in the film, Winston was portrayed as almost a beaten man in these cabinet debates--now I understand why. The author offers no proof to support his argument (most developed in the Epilogue) and a lot of speculation. To me, Churchill was playing for time to see what the French would do and if the Dunkirk evaluation would be successful (it was to the tune of 330,000 troops saved). He did not want to totally reject possible negotiation, or at least give that impression, but it simply was never a reality for him. After consulting with his 25 cabinet minister, he gives the famous "on the beaches" speech and routs Halifax and moves ahead to defend his country, as only he could.

I have no problem with the author propounding his thesis because the rest of the book is so effective. The author has really done a thorough job of research as the 36 pages of notes attest. It is difficult to see how anyone could have prevailed as PM in May 1940--but this book gives us some important insights into Churchill and how he was able to do it.
77 people found this helpful
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K. Caputo
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent service
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2023
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Excellent service. Just as described. Speedy delivery.
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Steve Pollock
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Research and Writing
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2018
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New information about Churchill’s leadership to save England: “Churchill, in late May, after a great deal of vacillating, of hemming and hawing, of all-night pacing, of mental disorderliness, saying one thing and then the other, of an infuriating overuse of the volte face, of soul-searching, of heedfulness, of listening, of reconsideration, of option-weighing, of reckoning, of black-dog speechlessness, was able to confront the nation and offer words toughened in the fires of an intense doubt, and come down on the right side of history. He got it right.”
10 people found this helpful
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Jan Rankinen
3.0 out of 5 stars ".....Hurricane fighter jets."?
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2021
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Author wrote ".....Churchill flew across the Channel in his trusty Flamingo plane, accompanied by two Hurricane fighter jets." Gloster Meteor was the first British operational jet fighter. It first flew in 1943 and entered operational service in 1944. Piston engine equipped Hawker Hurricane was the stablemate of the Supermarine Spitfire. The Hurricane supported the evacuation at Dunkirk and was instrumental in the Battle of Britain. Such an error makes me suspicious of what other errors or inconsistencies are in the book.
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Kelley Ridings
4.0 out of 5 stars How “Winston Churchill became Winston Churchill”
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2019
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Darkest Hour is a very intriguing book highlighting the first month of Winston Churchill’s prime ministership in May 1940 during the first year of World War 2. His rise to power coincided with the, then, lowest point for the British in the war — their main army was cornered in France after the all but certain devastating defeat of France and Belgium to Germany in a matter of weeks. Churchill faced the defeat of Britain’s most important ally, the potential capture of the main British fighting force in France, and powerful political forces in his own party who wanted to negotiate an armistice with the Germans rather than face the certain defeat of their army. This book helps show Churchill’s thinking as he negotiated his way through the horrors his country faced. It also shows how he came into his own through using his voice and words to influence the House of Commons, members of his own party, and the British people about the need to fight it out and persevere, even when facing what likely would be a German invasion of their country. It would have been difficult to remain upbeat and optimist during times such as that. Yet, Churchill was steadfast in belief that the British would fight on, regardless of the threats they faced. Yet many around him opposed that and wanted to sue for peace with the Germans. Even Churchill himself considered this option, shockingly, since he rose to power because of his strong opposition to Hitler and his insistence that Britain should oppose him no matter what. This story shows the power of persistence, keeping cool in the face of impending crisis, and listening to other voices, but using those voices to shape a diffract conception of the path to take. It was in that month that, as author Anthony McCarten puts it “Winston Churchill became Winston Churchill” as he found his voice and his power to persist, even when those around him were considering giving in. For the sake of western democracy, it is most fortunate he did.
3 people found this helpful
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Rick Mayo
5.0 out of 5 stars Churchill’s Resilience
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2018
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This is a very quick read, not for its length but for its intensity. It is hard to put down, each chapter, each section show the determination and devotion he had to save his country from milk-toast politicians who would rather appease than oppose.
England, and the world, owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the one man who dared stand up to Hitler. Did he have doubts, yes; did he have reservations, yes; but he never wavered in his determination to stand!
A very good foundation for a very good movie.
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Top reviews from other countries

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GUS OTTB
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book full of insights
Reviewed in Canada on February 15, 2022
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I learned a lot from this book. Very thorough background with gripping details. I liked the point that Mr. Churchill was declared a 360 degree leader, just what was needed at the time. I made a point of listening to some of Mr. Churchill’s speeches on u tube to enhance the learning experience. Excellent book, worth your time to read.
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shirley
4.0 out of 5 stars darkest hour
Reviewed in India on November 14, 2022
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i like history
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Rodrigo S Biondi
5.0 out of 5 stars Great history of a great man. Well written!
Reviewed in Brazil on September 10, 2018
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First I saw the movie, than I bought the book and bacame more and more anxious about this important chapter of our era.
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E-gabriel
5.0 out of 5 stars HISTOIRE
Reviewed in France on January 6, 2021
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Bien reçu, dans les temps bon emballage, extrêmement satisfait du service et de sa rapidité. Je recommande aux amis
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Guillermo De la Monja Carter
5.0 out of 5 stars Dark hours
Reviewed in Mexico on February 20, 2018
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Excelente trabajo de investigación, refleja muy bien el momento histórico.
También nos da mucha información sobre la personalidad de Churchill y como interpreta la situación de la guerra y de Inglaterra durante esos días
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