The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz

“W.C. is really the counterpart of Goring in England.”

Along with his admirers, Churchill had plenty of critics, as this quote shows. The speaker, the wife of a member of Parliament, goes on to liken the two men in their “bloated ego,” “treachery,” “heroics and hot air” (23).

“If I had to spend my whole life with a man, I’d choose Chamberlain, but I think I would sooner have Mr. Churchill if there was a storm and I was shipwrecked.” 

This is written by a Mass-Observation diarist, Nella Last, and illustrates the confidence that ordinary British citizens placed in Churchill. The quote suggests that Chamberlain was considered the more stable individual, but Churchill the one who could rescue people in extreme circumstances—who could get a difficult job done. 

“I shall drag the United States in.” 

This is Churchill’s solution for how Britain will win the war, which he tells to his son Randolph. It shows that early on Churchill knows that Britain cannot win the war without America’s support and that he will use his powers of persuasion to bring them in. 

“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” 

Churchill speaks this famous line in his first speech before the House of Commons as prime minister on May 13, 1940. It is meant to convey realism about the difficult road that lies ahead for Britain in its journey to victory. 

“Clemmie dropped on him like a jaguar out of a tree.” 

Churchill describes how his wife, Clementine, routinely rebukes appeasement-minded politicians who visit the house. The quote illustrates Clementine’s strong-minded personality and her support of her husband’s policies. 

“[…] the greatest target in the world, a kind of tremendous, fat, valuable cow tied up to attract the beast of prey.” 

Churchill reflects on London’s status as a prominent target for the Luftwaffe. London is England’s largest city, one of the major capitals of Europe, and easy to access from the English Channel. It is also a symbol of one of the world’s most powerful empires, another reason why Hitler would want to strike and destroy it. 

“[…] protagonists on a vaster scene and […] champions of a high and invincible cause, for which the stars in their courses were fighting […]” 

John Martin, one of Churchill’s secretaries, describes how the prime minister made the British people feel, imbuing their experience with a deep global importance and infusing it with a sense of moral righteousness. 

“Herr Fuhrer and Reich Chancellor, we hurl it right back into your evil-smelling teeth!” 

In response to a speech by Hitler to the Reichstag in which he appeals to Britain’s “reason and common sense” to surrender (139), a BBC commentator offers this strong and bold riposte. The Germans in turn are amazed at the persistence of the British. 

“Mr. President, with great respect I must tell you that in the long history of the world, this is a thing to do now.” 

This quote is part of Churchill’s long and tireless campaign to convince Roosevelt to provide aid to Britain in the form of destroyer ships. It shows again Churchill’s long view of history and his place in it. 

“Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.” 

Churchill utters this line spontaneously to General Ismay after having heard of an incredibly successful sortie of the RAF against the Germans. He later works it into one of his most famous speeches, demonstrating how lines often germinate in Churchill’s mind and are later given formal birth in his oratory. 

“This was to be the day Hitler was to be in London. Can’t find him.” 

Alexander Cadogan, undersecretary of foreign affairs, writes this in his diary after the blazingly successful RAF campaign on August 15, which was supposed to have been the launch of Hitler’s Operation Sea Lion against Britain. 

“You knew the fate of civilization was being decided fifteen thousand feet above your head in a world of sun, wind and sky […] You knew it, but even so it was hard to take it in.” 

Journalist Virginia Cowles describes the strange experience of watching aerial combat from the ground. This is an example of how the bizarre or violent often intersects with the everyday in the British people’s experience of the war. 

“One thinks every noise now will be a siren or plane.” 

A Mass-Observation diarist writes this amid a “mounting sense that the air raids were coming closer” to London (174). The people of Britain are on edge from the expectation that the German invasion may happen any day. This stress takes a toll on their mental and physical health. 

“Once a terrifying symbol of modern warfare, the bomber lay emasculated in a field, a mere relic to view before returning home for tea.” 

In another example of the surreal juxtapositions of daily life in the war, Colville discovers a downed bomber plane in a field while taking a pleasant walk with a friend. The plane appears out of its context and therefore seems strange and surreal. 

“I’d die in my sleep, happily, if only I could sleep.”

A Mass-Observation diarist testifies to the sleep deprivation caused by the air raids, a sign of the toll that the war is taking on civilians’ physical health.

“Never was there such a contrast of natural splendor and human vileness.” 

The line that gives the book its title comes from Colville’s diary, in which he describes the spectacular sight of London during a bombing raid. Colville is contrasting the visual beauty of the lighted city with the human evil that occasioned it. However, the quote and title also suggest the interplay in this narrative between the good and heroic elements of human nature with the vile and despicable elements. 

“But never in my whole life have I ever experienced such pure and flawless happiness.” 

In her diary, a young woman recalls a near miss by a bomb while lying in bed. The quote underlines the fact that for many Londoners, the greatest fear was fear itself—the fear of not being able to face an attack. Once she had experienced it, the citizen felt emboldened and as if she could face anything. 

“No man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it; there can be no appeasement with ruthlessness.” 

Roosevelt discusses the impossibility of making peace with Hitler. Hitler was bent on world domination, and Roosevelt implies that the only solution is to defeat him with force of arms. 

“Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” 

At a dinner party held in his honor in Scotland, Harry Hopkins quotes the biblical Book of Ruth, applying the quote to the new relationship between America and Britain as they face the war together. Hopkins’s speech moves the audience deeply and solidifies Anglo-American feeling. 

“Oh it was so gay our party…and suddenly it all seemed wrong & a mockery.” 

Mary writes this in her diary after the horrifying bombing of the underground Café de Paris, in which many people died or were injured. Mary’s social life, including many parties at swanky locales, continues during the war; however, this incident will make her desire to live more responsibly and contribute to the war effort. 

“Human beings are so stupid. Life is so short, and they then go and make it so hard for themselves.” 

In this richly ironic quote from Goring’s diary, he looks askance at Germany’s enemies for refusing to surrender. It could, of course, apply even more to the Nazis themselves. 

“We want a panzer and not a pansy Government.” 

This memorable line was spoken by Major Maurice Petherick during the May 6 parliamentary debate on Churchill’s handling of the war. Petherick is arguing in praise of Churchill’s leadership and against Churchill’s critics. He is expressing the need for an even stronger government to lead the war. 

“He is not to be taken as lightly as we usually take him.” 

In his diary, Goring expresses the secret fear that Churchill inspires in the Nazi leadership. In light of his continued resistance and willingness to fight, they have come to regard him as a formidable enemy, however much they may have underestimated him before.