As a fan of Marie Benedict, I was happy to receive a copy of Lady Clementine for review.

I enjoyed reading the story, learning more about Lady Clementine & what she may have gone through during her life. The story moves along at just the right times (ie. starting to become a bit tedious). Months/years pass by, yet does not take away from the storyline. Having known nothing about Winston Churchill, (besides the historical facts), & even less about his family & wife, this was an interesting read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read & review.

At twenty-three, Clementine Hozier didn't expect much of the dinner party; but when an up-and-coming politician arrives, Winston Churchill, she's captivated. The feeling is mutual, and five months later, they marry. As her husband politics, Clementine manages the household (less Pol Roger!), advances her agenda (women's suffrage), and advises her “Pug.” A fascinating fictionalized account of the consummate political wife.

I've enjoyed all of Marie Benedict's previous books and this one was also enjoyable. Lady Clementine was very interesting-I loved the role that Clementine played to Winston Churchill. While the history was important to the book and events, it seemed to me that it got so bogged down in the history, that there were periods of the book that Clementine (or any character) were discussed. Clementine was the best part of the book and a great character. Overall, a good, enjoyable read, but not my favorite by this author.

Lady Clementine begins on the morning of Clementine Hozier's marriage to prominent politician Winston Churchill. From there, it progresses into a full-on account of her life with Winston, as she transforms into a political force in her own right. As the years pass on, the couple faces trials within their marriage, in politics, and in their private familial lives.

Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to enjoy this book, I just didn't. On the surface, it was everything I'd want in a historical fiction - a 20th century setting with a strong feminist heroine. But when it all came together, I was a little underwhelmed.

The story often jumps through time, from chapter-to-chapter and within each chapter. This makes it quite difficult to follow along with the progression of the story, as it is not cohesive. The time stamps at the beginning of each chapter would be useful if they better reflected the content of the chapter (for example, in some cases, there would be a major flashback scene under a chapter that was marked for a different date).

In spite of this, I did enjoy learning more about Clementine Churchill. She was a very progressive woman, given that she was for the women's suffrage movement and that she found her purpose in life to be assisting her husband's political career, rather than simply tending to her family. This novel gave me the basic story of her life and I will definitely look more into this fascinating woman in the future!

Fans of The Crown on Netflix and any of Marie Benedict’s other books will enjoy this tale of Winston Churchill’s wife, Clementine. I really enjoyed the look, even if it’s fictional, at how strong Clemmie always was for her husband. She kept him together in so many ways, and I think it’s sad that history doesn’t show the powerful women behind the powerful men.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Many times behind a great man, is a great woman and this is so true in the life of Winston Churchill and his wife, Clementine. I did not want to put this one down. The author's detailed research shines through and you get an up close look at the Churchill's relationship during one of the most trying times. Put this one of your want to read list.

I found this book very insightful as to the relationship between Clementine and her husband Winston Churchill as well as the happenings around World War I and World War II. It is obvious that Winston was not the easiest man to live with. Very set in his ways. For example: only English standard food for meals, two baths a day with water at specific temps and at exact times, and specific shirts at certain times. He was also very much a "my way or the highway man" which often caused conflicts in his marriage as well as his position in the British government.

Clementine obviously loved him very much and tried to make things easier for him. But at the same time, as a very intelligent, strong, independent woman, she was not bashful about making her own opinions known which often paved the way for Winston to accomplish more for his country. It saddened me that it wasn't until her children were nearly grown that she had much of a relationship with them, and the continuing change of nannies/governesses didn't help the situation either especially the first 3 children.

Although this was historical fiction, it is obvious that Benedict did an enormous amount of research. It definitely shows throughout the story.

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from Sourcebooks Landmark through NetGalley. Opinions are mine alone. I was not compensated for this review.

This book was incredibly disappointing. Clementine is presented as a martyr who puts up with Winston and the brains behind his ability to run Britain. It felt that he had no good thoughts on his own and only survived the political and real world thanks to Clementine's hand. I was also distraught to read how she put him first, over their children. Was this true? And if so, did she feel remorseful the way the book occasionally mentions? It was as though Winston were her first and favorite child and she was so busy mothering him to offer anything to the other children. Another factor in this overall feeling was how the story line jumped forward in time. It was as though the book were more a collection of vignettes from her life. And mostly her life with Winston. Even if limited information is there, the benefit of being historical fiction is the ability to fill in gaps to provide a smooth story to the reader. Sadly, that was absent and what was offered missed the mark.

Marie Benedict enjoys introducing her readers to women who in their own right led interesting lives besides the prominent men of the time. Her latest historical fiction features, Clementine Churchill(1885-1977), a formidable woman who spent her adult life building, supporting, and at times challenging her husband, Sir Winston Churchill, in politics. Marie Benedict does not shy away from the ups and downs of the Churchills in both their personal and private lives. Through two world wars and the arrival of five children, Clementine and Winston were devoted to their country and the British people.

My paternal grandfather was a fan of Churchill's and due to the many books in his library, including one that details the thousands of letters that " Pug" and "Cat" wrote to each other, Marie Benedict has certainly conveyed the love and respect they held for one another. As I read an ARC, the author's note wasn't included, however, I did some research online and based on what I found, many aspects of MB's narrative seem to be true(won't be specific as it could be considered spoilers).

I enjoyed the novel and read it one sitting, I felt that Benedict makes the couple most realistic in the scenes where it's just the two of them. I think we(particularly in the Commonwealth countries) often overlook the wives of our Prime Ministers(or at least that is my personal observation when comparing it to the roles of First Lady in the US.) In 2015, Clementine was given her own biography written by Sonia Purnell which I will try and find at my secondhand store.

Thanks to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads review published 05/01/20/
Publication Date 07/01/20

This is my first time reading Marie Benedict, she has been on my radar for a while with The Other Einstein and Carnegie's Maid - both waiting patiently on my tbr pile.

Lady Clementine follows the trend these days with strong women supporting men in leadership roles. My only glimpse of the wife of Winston Churchill were brief appearances on The Crown, so yea I was looking forward to this one.

Beginning in 1909 with their wedding and spanning through to 1945, there is a lot of years and living to tackle in 336 pages. For me, that reflected in my enjoyment as I struggled to connect with Clementine. I found I was educated verses entertained. I learned a lot about their lives, struggles, parenthood and more, but I didn’t warm up to them. I didn't get the emotional attachment that I crave in these types of books. Given the ratings, it would appear I am in the minority.

But all in all, I liked it and that's still a good thing.

My thanks to Sourcebooks (via Netgalley) for an advanced copy in exchange for honest review.

I really enjoyed this book about Churchill’s wife. I did not like either Winston or Clementine, their relationship seemed very dysfunctional to me, but it worked for them. Having said that, I came to greatly admire Lady Clementine. A great companion book for those who are enjoying “The Crown”.

I loved Carnegie’s Maid and was excited to receive an ARC of Lady Clementine. Marie Benedict did not disappoint. The book was a little slow at first but picked up quickly. Benedict did a great job showing how Clementine was a good helpmate to and for her husband while showing her weaknesses as a mother. I think this will make a good bookclub choice and provide for good discussion. This book was well-researched and I learned a lot. My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC in exchange for an honest review,

VERDICT: Great writing, but the book would have been improved with better choices in the treatment of Lady Clementine’s life.
I have enjoyed several books by Marie Benedict, for instance Carnegie's Maid, and as I knew nothing about Clementine Churchill, I decided to read this author’s latest historical novel, Lady Clementine.

I enjoyed the writing. As usual, Benedict’s style is very flowing and she’s good at recreating the ambiance of an era, with great descriptions.

From the very first sentence, she managed to present Lady Churchill as someone unique, with a very specific mission in life, something unheard of to that degree in her time (like for instance being part of the war cabinet discussions).
Mrs. Churchill’s interests totally fit those of the man she ended up marrying and supporting all her life, even saving his life a couple of times.
It was fascinating to read about all that she did during both wars to support her country and help all those who suffered.

The author also highlighted some important elements in Clementine’s life, like her difficulties when she realized her husband maybe liked her more for what she was doing for him, for how she was supporting him and helping him in so many ways, than for who she was as a person.
Another important element in the book is her not being the mothering type.

As I mentioned above, I really knew nothing about the Churchills. So, as I remembered being a bit disappointed by Marie Benedict’s treatment of Hedy Lamarr’s life when I read another book on this artist, I thought it might be important to learn more about Clementine Churchill. So I watched a few documentaries on her.

I discovered she lived twelve more years than Winston. He died in 1965 and she in 1977. As her life’s focus had so much been her husband’s support, including preparing his speeches together, to give just a tiny detail, I think it would have been very interesting to prolong this novel (it ends in 1945), and show how Clementine’s life evolved after her husband’s death.
As for the mothering type, I was shocked to discover that one of her daughters, Diana, ended up dying of an overdose in 1963. I think this is a major element, and the book should definitely talk about Clementine’s later years and this tragedy.

So once again (see my review of The Only Woman in the Room), I like Marie Benedict’s style, but I disagree with some of her choices in the treatment of the lives of the women she decides to feature.

I really wanted to love this book, but for me, it fell a little short. There is no denying that Clementine Churchill was a spectacular woman - one full of spunk, passion, desire and resiliency. What an amazing woman. While I'm sure the depiction is accurate, Winston was such an annoying, whiny man that made him difficult to like, thus made the story drag. In addition, though historical accuracy is obviously necessary in this historical fiction novel, some of the details and minutiae was wordy and dense. I found the book hard to get through.

I absolutely loved learning about Clementine Churchill ❤️
This amazing woman helped guide her famous husband, prime minister Winston Churchill through World War 1 and 2. She not only saved his actual life, but many times saved his political career. She was intelligent, intuitive and understood the delicate balance of giving him suggestions versus forcing her beliefs on him. She was a fierce fighter for women’s rights, but put her husband above everyone and everything.
As soon as I saw this book Lady Clementine I knew it was something I would love! Marie Benedict is one of my favorite historical fiction writers!
🧜🏼‍♀️🌺

Lady Clementine is a fictional account of the woman who stood next to Winston Churchill. This was my first but not my last read by Marie Benedict. Told in first person, I loved the honesty of the character created and the sacrifices she made to stand by her husband. Yet, she was not afraid to admit her flaws. I love reading a book that empowers women but that makes you feel as if you are living in England during that time period. I finished this read in a couple of days and I loved it. Thank you #NetGalley #LadyClementine

Unfortunately, this was a 'did not finish' for me. I tried and I tried, and while the writing was good.. I was just bored. The political war talk was not my genre, and while I tried to commit myself to it over and over again, I will not continue beyond the 35% I made it to. I appreciate the story and the writing, but this book was not for me.

A big thank you to netgalley and Sourcebooks for the eARC!!

I loved hearing about Clementine Churchill and her resolve to make history rather than be a shadow standing by her husband’s side. I was pulled in right away and interested to learn more about her as the only thing I knew was that she was married to Winston Churchill. I enjoyed learning about her and seeing her as a pioneer of being a political wife. Rather than stay silent at dinner parties, she engaged in political debates with the men which was unheard of for women as it was considered unladylike at the time..

The novel also shows the darker side of their marriage and Winston. He’s normally seen as this conquering giant due to his prime ministership during WWII, but I really like how the author acknowledges how problematic Churchill actually was with some of his views.

Writing reminds of classical British literature like Charlotte Brontë. I did get a little frustrated with some of the language and use of big words like “lasciviousness” but maybe I’m just stupid

She’s a strong, complex, progressive woman who I’ve come to admire very much through this fictionalized story of her adult life. It was a great first book of the decade and I look forward to learning more about her in the future..

Of course I have heard of Winston Churchill, but I don’t think I have ever heard of his wife till I read Lady Clementine. Clementine Churchill was very influential in Winston’s career and the victory of WWII. I enjoyed learning more about the history of Churchill and the time period. Though I did find some chapters pretty lengthy and overly detailed for my liking.
Thank you to NetGalley for this arc digital copy.

“Strange how I thrive under the stress of crisis and falter under the weight of normal existence.”

In Lady Clementine, we get the fictionalized autobiography of Clementine Churchill. Clementine was the better half of Winston Churchill, the deeply flawed hero who was largely responsible for the Allied victory in World War II.

The second half of the book is just World War II. It moved quickly. Unfortunately the first half of the book, while interesting, was so chock full of detail that it was a bit of a slog. I don’t know any way around it—hard to convey a life story if you just skip to the good part.

Clementine lived in the wrong era. She wanted more than to keep house and take care of her family (not that there’s anything wrong with that; it was more than a full time job like it is today). When they initially met, Clementine didn’t recognize Winston when he sat next to her. Yet his familiar face she couldn’t place impressed her when he saw her as an intelligent, independent woman—and valued that in her.

Winston does not come off very favorably in this novel. He’s selfish, self-absorbed, narcissistic or just plain unbearable. It’s hard to know how she put up with him for several decades; personally I don’t know how I would have reacted in this time period, but it’s hard to imagine falling in love with someone with such poor social-emotional skills, let alone lasting 56 fricking years. In her shoes, I wouldn’t have lasted a month and we’d all be speaking German right now. She was that critical to his success. Clementine was a world treasure.

I can’t say I ever cheer for infidelity with the exception of this book when I was praying Clementine took a lover. A basic Internet search (I must have Googled 15 different things discussed in this book) revealed they were devoted to each other with one exception on each side, neither affair considered likely.

Clementine puts Winston above everything, including herself. One of the worst parts in the book, undoubtedly true, is when her son states as fact that she puts her husband before her kids.

The big issue about Winston in the past 5-10 years in historical circles has been his awful record wrt India. This book does have a mention of that—Clemmie didn’t agree with him. In fact, she doesn’t concur with several of his more odious views. She was a lifelong liberal and he mostly conservative. Yet she still helps him to achieve greater and greater success, not just by working with him on his lisp or speeches, but even in strategizing how to pitch ideas to those with the power to make them happen. She helps to keep conversation flowing when he monopolizes the conversation and forgives him when he gets grumpy and yells at her. Basically, she’s a saint.

In WWII, Clementine took on a huge role, working to make sure air raid shelters were safe and getting women involved in war efforts by making sure they were given the opportunity to fill jobs like anti-aircraft gunners, decoders, mechanics and many other obvious occupations.

I knew a lot about Winston before reading Lady Clementine because I have a passion for WWII books and movies. However, I didn’t have a sense for how absolutely annoying he was as a human until this read. It was an important look at Winston’s partner and ballast.