56 pages • 1 hour read
Erik LarsonThe Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Who, in your judgment, is the most important member of Churchill’s inner circle, and why?
What are the main criticisms of Churchill’s leadership by his opponents in Parliament?
Has Larson structured his historical narrative like conventional fiction? If so, what event do you see as the climax of the book?
Why might Larson have chosen to take his narrative only through the first year of Churchill’s term as prime minister? Do you find this a satisfactory scope for the book? Why or why not?
How would you characterize Churchill’s relationship to Clementine? To Mary, Pamela, Randolph? With which of his children is he the closest?
Do you find Larson’s novelistic style of telling his story—including the use of short chapters and crosscutting from one scene to another—a valid way to present history? What are its strengths, and does it have any potential flaws?
What function do the Mass-Observation diarists serve in the war effort?
Compare and contrast Goebbels’s use of propaganda with Churchill’s. What are the aims of each, and what methods are used to achieve those aims?
What are Roosevelt’s feelings about bringing America into the war?
Who, in your judgment, is the most important American in the book besides Roosevelt, and why?
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By Erik Larson
