Kingmaker by Sonia Purnell review – Pamela Churchill Harriman’s astonishing life of seduction and power
The eventful love life – and intelligence-gathering skills – of one of the most talked-about women of her age makes the first half of this sympathetic study more compelling than the postwar ‘gold-digging’ years
As a youth she wasn’t popular among her peers. “Fat and freckly with red hair and mad about horses,” remembers Clarissa Churchill. “We used to bully her.” Nancy Mitford was no kinder: “She was a red-headed bouncing little thing, regarded as a joke.” Among the debutantes of 1938 she did not shine, being neither rich nor beautiful. And yet despite this unpropitious beginning, Pamela Digby (later Churchill Harriman) would become one of the most influential, moneyed and talked-about women in postwar Anglo-American high society. Sonia Purnell explains how she did it in this sympathetic, well-researched, busily peopled but faintly exhausting biography, which will test even the keenest appetite for stories of ambition and the will to power.
Born into a privileged but cash-strapped family that sold up in Belgravia, London, and moved to Dorset, where her grandfather, the 10th Lord Digby, built a 50-room mansion without bathrooms (he considered them “disgusting”), she was an adventurous and energetic girl who so craved escape from loneliness that she gambled on marrying, aged 19, a man she had only known for two weeks. That her betrothed was Randolph Churchill, a bumptious brute much disliked in society, was both a personal catastrophe and the making of her. He had the pedigree, and provided an entrée to his parents, Winston and Clemmie, who took to Digby immediately. She was their mascot, a confidante and an initiate in “the low cunning of high politics”, often standing in for the fragile Clemmie and becoming a trusted member of Winston’s inner circle at Chequers and in the Whitehall war bunker. Her ascent came at a cost: Randolph, maddened with resentment, took his drinking and philandering to obnoxious new levels. A son, Winston, was the unlucky issue of the union.
Continue reading...Date: |
Topics
-
CBS News - Top stories
AI-powered Windows laptops: Our hands-on review
Just what is AI doing in these new Windows machines? We found out exactly what Microsoft Copilot+ PCs actually do.5 hours ago -
BBC News - Top stories
Life as a woman under Taliban rule
How are Afghanistan’s women and girls coping with harsh new restrictions?Yesterday -
GameSpot - Tech
Frostpunk 2 Review
Frostpunk 2's challenging gameplay makes for a compelling experience despite a dour and cynical view of human nature.Yesterday -
GameSpot - Tech
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster Review
As a high schooler in 2006, I spent many months and what little money I had renting screen time with an Xbox 360 in a mall store that had dozens of TVs and consoles available for use at hourly ...Yesterday -
BBC News - Top stories
Escaped capybara 'probably living her best life'
The search for Cinnamon goes on after she fled Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World in Telford on Friday.Yesterday -
Financial Times - World
How will the apparent attempt on Trump’s life change the campaign?
Also in today’s newsletter, Kamala Harris’s Nevada problem and the polling advantage on economic stewardshipYesterday -
Inc. - Business
Beyond the Ordinary: The Transformative Power of Curiosity
Sure, curiosity might have killed the cat. But it will transform your life for the better.16 hours ago -
GameSpot - Tech
The Plucky Squire Review - Every Trick In The Book
The Plucky Squire is a game that will rightly receive a lot of attention for its eye-catching visual gimmick, which merges the worlds of 2D and 3D art around a clever story hook. But more than just ...Yesterday -
The New York Times - Top stories
Book Review: ‘Connie: A Memoir,’ by Connie Chung
In a frank and entertaining new memoir, the TV newscaster recounts how sexism, and Dan Rather, sidelined her groundbreaking career.Yesterday -
GameSpot - Tech
Frostpunk 2 Review - Drawing A Line In The Snow
In Frostpunk 2, I was responsible for a growing population of desperate people, trying to forge a new life in a world that had frozen over. One of the city's factions pleaded that I, the steward, ...Yesterday
More from The Guardian
-
The Guardian - World
Walkie-talkie blasts: attacks on Hezbollah kill 20 as Israel says military focus shifting north
Twenty killed and at least 450 injured in cities across Lebanon a day after exploding pagers killed 12. Analysis: Pager and walkie-talkie attacks were audacious and carefully planned A new ...5 hours ago - Israel -
The Guardian - World
Venezuela opposition leader says he was forced to sign letter accepting Maduro victory
Edmundo González says he signed election letter under duress as condition for allowing him to flee to Spain. Is it game over for Venezuela’s opposition as Maduro clings on? Venezuela ’s ...3 hours ago -
The Guardian - World
More than 100 ex-Republican officials call Trump ‘unfit to serve’ and endorse Harris
In recent weeks, a handful of Republicans have crossed party lines to endorse Democratic presidential candidate. US politics live – latest updates More than 100 Republican former national ...6 hours ago - Donald Trump -
The Guardian - World
Blast from attack on Russian arms depot picked up on earthquake monitors
Ukrainian drone attack causes large explosion at arsenal in Toropets, more than 300 miles north of Ukraine. A Ukrainian drone attack on a large Russian weapons depot caused a blast that was picked ...8 hours ago - Russia -
The Guardian - World
Storm Boris batters northern Italy bringing severe flooding and landslides
Homes evacuated in Emilia-Romagna region as pounding rain ‘well beyond the worst forecasts’ sweeps in. Homes are being evacuated in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna as Storm Boris, ...1 hour ago