The Churchill Secret KBO

By: Jonathan Smith

Narrated by: Sean Barrett

Nineteen fifty-three is synonymous in the British memory with the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June. But less well known is what happened in 10 Downing Street on 23 June.

With Anthony Eden vying for power, the elderly prime minister, Winston Churchill, must maintain the confidence of his government, the press, and the public. But after a diplomatic dinner at which he is in typically sparkling form, Churchill's Italian dining companions are rushed out of the building, and his doctor called. The prime minister has had a stroke.

Churchill is bedbound throughout the summer, and while secrecy agreements have been struck with leading newspaper barons, the potential impact of his health on public life is never far from the minds of his inner circle. With the help of a devoted young nurse and his indomitable wife, Clementine, Churchill gradually recoups his health. But will he be fit enough to represent Britain on the world stage?

©2015 Jonathan Smith (P)2015 Isis Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"An excellent and subtle novelist." (A. S. Byatt)

Quite an Effort by All

A year or two ago I watched this story on PBS and it was excellent with Churchill played Michael Gambon. Truly a masterpiece on Masterpiece Theatre. Well this is one of those endless number of times that the book is better than the movie. The story and the narrator/reader are both some of the best I’ve heard. The people come alive in your head. Their emotions are real. Their hopes, needs desires...are right there, alive on the ‘page’. After listening to hundreds of books this is right towards the top.

Churchill pulls through one of his toughest trials

Anyone interested in Churchill, the man, will love this look at one of his toughest health crisis seen through the eyes of his competent and caring nurse.