Publishers Weekly
06/10/2019
Despite the subtitle suggesting a portrait of women workers, journalist Stelzer (Dinner With Churchill) actually offers up a revealing behind-the-scenes view of Winston Churchill as seen by mostly but not exclusively female secretaries, an unguarded Churchill “when not on stage, when not performing.” Utilizing oral histories conducted by the Churchill Archives in Cambridge, Stelzer devotes one chapter apiece to 12 employees’ duties and observations of the Churchills. The accounts of those employed before WWII—personal secretary Violet Pearman; Grace Hamblin, hired to assist with Churchill’s literary work; and nighttime secretary Kathleen Hill—establish Churchill as a hardworking author and public servant. Jo Sturdee and Marian Holmes, who both came on board during the war, provide lively stories about overseas travel in wartime (being followed by enemy submarines, eating decadent meals on board). Cecily Gemmell, Elizabeth Gilliatt, Lettice Marston, Jane Portal, Doreen Pugh, and Catherine Snelling, who were hired to manage an ever-burgeoning workload in the postwar period, recall Churchill’s declining health, still-active work schedule, and household occasions including birthdays and dinner parties. Stelzer concludes that Churchill was a man so committed to his work that he was “often insensitive to the needs of those around him,” but his secretaries regarded him as considerate, kind, even lovable. Readers seeking “unsung women” will not get what they came for, but Churchill devotees will delight in yet another view of the British leader. (May)
Sarah Baxter
Cita Stelzer has found an intimate way to reveal the secrets of this great man's life with exceptional skill and flair, giving voice to the silent army the helped him to lead the nation.
General David Petraeus (US Army
An absorbing, intriguing, and utterly fascinating study of the women who supported Churchill during the most challenging of his endeavors, from leading—and inspiring—Britain and the west during WWII to writing innumerable speeches and books of enormous importance on the most consequential political, historical, and social issues of Churchill's time. A masterful work!
The Sunday Times (London) (Praise for Dinner with Churchill)
The Churchill industry has been so productive in the decades since his death, and such libraries of books have been published, that an original take on his exceptionally well-documented life might seem impossible. However, with this readable "gastrobiography," Stelzer has succeeded brilliantly in producing one.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch (Praise for Dinner with Churchill)
A feast for foodies and history buffs alike,Dinner With Churchilloffers a delicious and easily digestible portrait of the culinary tactics that helped its subject win the cooperation of others and, in so doing, the global conflict that threatened to destroy everything he held dear.”
Julia Boyd
A gripping read that tells the story of the extraordinary women, and one man, who were Churchill's secretaries. Out of their fascinating personal accounts emerges a brilliantly original and at times deeply touching account of Winston in all his multiple moods, colours and breath-taking accomplishment.
Michael F. Bishop
Working for Churchill was far from easy, but Cita Stelzer's vivid and entertaining portrait of his indispensable assistants shows why they loved him—and how much he needed them. This group biography of the most important secretarial team in history portrays the great man through the eyes of the women who made his greatness possible.
Allen Packwood
In his darkest hours Winston Churchill depended on his supporting cast: those who took down his words, managed his affairs, and provided the machinery to channel his prodigious energy to maximum effect. They were far more than secretaries, and Cita Stelzer has done us a great service in bringing them out of the shadows and putting them centre stage.
Andrew Roberts
They say that no man is a hero to his valet. The people who knew Winston Churchill most intimately outside his own family—his secretaries and personal assistants—didthink him a hero. Cita Stelzer explains why and floods fresh light on the man and his working practices.... A well-researched, well-written and hugely enjoyable book, which I highly recommend.
William Shawcross
What a wonderful repast Cita Stelzer has served us. History as it was consumed: Roosevelt sipping, Churchill quaffing – the best (and not so good) cuts and the great vintages are all on the table. Another bottle, please!
Ben Macintyre
A delightful and delicious tribute to Churchill’s heroic appetite for wining, dining and politicking.
Daily Mail
That was what it was like working for Churchill, as Cita Stelzer’s glorious new book, weaving together first-hand recollections by his secretaries, shows. You'd be summoned to the Presence—and if it was the morning, he'd be sitting in bed in his brocade dressing-gown, lighting his cigar from a candle, with his cat as a hot-water bottle, all nine daily papers strewn over the eiderdown and a whisky and soda to take him through to lunchtime.
Booklist
Stelzer offers a unique and specific perspective by providing biographical profiles of the group of young women who played a great service to the British war effort by serving as secretaries and typists working closely with Churchill in his day-to-day preoccupations as he directed the war effort. It is truly a pleasure to meet these dedicated women and to herald the arrival of a new, worthwhile, lens-widening addition to the shelf of Churchill biographies.
Times (London)
Working with Winston is a wonderful tour behind the scenes of history and its vignettes portray a very human and attractive man.
