Churchill and the 'Black Dog' of Depression: Reassessing the Biographical Evidence of Psychological Disorder

by W. Attenborough

Overview

Churchill's 'Black Dog' is widely believed to have been an inborn tendency towards prolonged and despairing depression. In this, the first book-length study of all the available biographical evidence, some of which has never before been published, the truth emerges as significantly less grave than legend has it, but more psychologically complex.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781349498994
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	01/14/2016
Edition description:	1st ed. 2014
Pages:	247
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.02(d)

About the Author

Wilfred Attenborough is an independent scholar based in the UK who has been researching the evidential foundations of Winston Churchill's 'Black Dog' for several years. Before retirement in 2008 he was a Family Court Welfare Officer and Adviser.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Black Dog and The Problem of Evidence 2. The Psychology of Churchill's Ambition 3. Breakdown in the Commons 4. Depressing at the Home Office? 5. Near-Breakdown and Capital Cases 6. Churchill's Black Dog Letter 7. Black Dog after the Admiralty? 8. Constrained by Lloyd George 9. Black Dog or Brown Study? 10. Contented at The Treasury and Chartwell 11. Depression and the Vision of Death 12. Moran's Modus Operandi 13. The Quest for Vindication 14. Fighting Against Atherosclerosis 15. Doctored Diary and Noteworthy Notebook 16. Reassessing Black Dog Appendix: The Moran Diary Entry for 2 August 1945

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This book contains much valuable incidental detail, and will certainly be of use to Churchill scholars. ... the author may be thanked for an exhaustive enquiry into the mind-set of an ever-fascinating individual." - Richard Toye, University of Exeter, UK, History of Psychiatry

Editorial Reviews

This good and worthwhile book is informative and easy to read if you are looking to understand Churchill from a psychological perspective.” (Martin Garfinkle, Finest Hour, Issue 175, 2017)

From the Publisher