erik larson the splendid and the vile review

Historical figures come alive through their own words. But also fascinating, informative, and sometimes even darkly comic. It was a harrowing time, and this is a harrowing book. And from time to time he looks across the channel to see how Hitler and his henchmen – who couldn’t understand why Churchill repeatedly snubbed their “friendly” peace offers - reacted and responded.Īnd meanwhile, the ordinary public suffered, died, and (most of them) survived.

But we also get to see events through the eyes of ordinary citizens. The spotlight is, naturally, on Winston Churchill and his closest circle – his cabinet ministers and department heads, and his family. The Splendid and the Vile is his account of London during the Blitz mostly set in the crucial year of 1940. “I think that each one of us was secretly afraid that he wouldn’t be able to, that he would rush shrieking to shelter, that his nerve would give, that he would in some way collapse, so that this has been a pleasant surprise.”Īuthor Erik Larson has found himself a useful and profitable niche, writing about famous characters and events in historical accounts that combine the actions of famous persons with the lives of ordinary people, to give us a many-faceted picture. “Finding we can take it is a great relief to most of us,” she wrote on September 22. Diarist Phyllis Warner found that she and fellow Londoners were surprised by their own resilience.

Erik larson the splendid and the vile review