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.
Part 6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 6: “Love Amid the Flames”
Chapter 84 Summary: “Grave News”
The Germans gain ground against British forces on the Middle Eastern front, notably in Libya. Churchill orders the British general in command there, Archibald Wavell, to defend the city of Tobruk at all costs. The Germans carry out a brutal retaliatory attack on Yugoslavia for turning against Hitler. Churchill sends British troops to Greece to defend the people there against Nazi incursions in that country.
Mary joins her parents and other officials for a tour on foot of the badly bombed cities of Swansea and Bristol. The crowds greet Churchill enthusiastically, impressing on him their “confidence” and his “grave responsibility.” Bristol has just been hit by a severe bombing, the Good Friday Raid. The next day, Easter Eve, Churchill confers honorary degrees at Bristol University, where he has a titular role as chancellor.
Roosevelt sends Churchill welcome news that he has decided to extend the American naval security zone and other measures that will help the British navy. US ships and aircraft will patrol these waters so as to detect and report to the British the presence of enemy ships.
Chapter 85 Summary: “Scorn”
By reporting unfavorably on the retreat of British forces from Greece, Goebbels hopes to pour scorn on Churchill in the press. In retaliation for a devastating British attack on Berlin, Goring proposes a series of new attacks on London. Churchill has his ambassador to Russia deliver a message to Stalin cryptically warning him of Hitler’s invasion plans.
Chapter 86 Summary: “That Night at the Dorchester”
A severe air raid hits London on the night of April 16. Harriman’s secretary watches it from the roof of the American embassy and must duck falling bombs. Harriman attends a party at the Dorchester Hotel where he meets up with Pamela. The two spend the night together as the attack rages.
The raid claims 1,180 lives and far more injuries, making it the worst attack thus far. The following morning, Colville comments that London looks “bleary-eyed and disfigured” (430).
Chapter 87 Summary: “The White Cliffs”
Lindemann reports to Churchill on improvements in his experimental anti-aircraft mines, exaggerating their success. Mary attends a party in London and, back at Chequers, weeps over a romantic poem about an American woman whose English lover dies in France in the Great War. Colville is disqualified for entrance into the RAF because of his eyesight. He is still dissatisfied with his life and craves a change.
Chapter 88 Summary: “Berlin”
Goebbels is content about the way the war is going and confident that England will collapse soon.
Chapter 89 Summary: “The Scowling Valley”
Churchill gives a radio address in which he tries to put a positive spin on the recent setbacks in Greece and the Middle East as well as the brutal air raids. Goebbels singles out some of Churchill’s remarks for mockery and to discredit him. Churchill takes time out to write a letter of condolence to the exiled prime minister of Belgium, two of whose sons died in a train fire en route to their Catholic boarding school in England. Rudolf Hess tries once again to take off for England in his plane, but Hitler orders him to stand in for him at a Labor Day ceremony the next day.
Chapter 90 Summary: “Gloom”
Beaverbrook submits yet another resignation to Churchill. This time Churchill accepts, as Beaverbrook has “succeeded beyond all expectations” at his task but at the same time has damaged friendly relationships between departments (440). Still friendly toward Beaverbrook, Churchill appoints him Minister of State, a post that involves overseeing all the supply ministries.
Plymouth, an important industrial and naval port in southwest England, has been hit by a series of intense night raids. Churchill visits the city and is severely shaken, more so than in any area he has yet visited. Roosevelt sends Churchill a telegram in which he minimizes the importance of the recent losses in the Middle East. Churchill is discouraged by Roosevelt’s attitude and his reluctance to commit America to war. He again urges the president to do so, seeing America as the “one decisive counterweight” to German aggression (442).
Chapter 91 Summary: “Eric”
At the beginning of May, Eric (Lord Duncannon) proposes marriage to Mary at Chequers. Mary, still a very young 18, is joyful yet apprehensive. Most of the rest of her family does not like the match. Churchill, “galled” by the recent bombing of Plymouth, seeks to get to the bottom of the RAF’s weak response and urges use of Lindemann’s new aerial mines.
Chapter 92 Summary: “Le Coeur Dit”
Mary experiences widely mixed emotions about Eric’s proposal but is ultimately happy.
Chapter 93 Summary: “Of Panzers and Pansies”
A parliamentary debate on Churchill’s handling of the war is held. A number of criticisms are leveled at Churchill and his government, including the “growing dependence” on America, military losses due to government “blunders,” and withholding information about the war from the British people. Still, most members leaven the criticism with praise for Churchill. The criticisms singe Churchill, but he delivers a strong rebuttal, which is cheered. The next day, the House of Commons votes in favor of Churchill’s proposed resolution.
Determined to make the RAF, Colville prepares to get fitted with contact lenses to improve his eyesight. Fearful for his life, Colville’s brothers object to his plans to enter the war.
Chapter 94 Summary: “Le Coeur Encore”
Mary goes to London to see Eric and discuss the engagement plans. Clementine urges the couple to postpone the marriage for six months. Mary has mixed emotions ending in confidence and joy.
Chapter 95 Summary: “Moonrise”
Reacting to Churchill’s speech after a particularly trying week for the Germans in the war, Goebbels believes that the British leader is “not to be taken as lightly as we usually take him” (95). He looks forward to more air raids against England. Mary announces her engagement to her friends and feels a surge of confidence.
Part 6 Analysis
This section interweaves the ongoing Blitz with the personal fortunes of the Churchill family. Harriman’s arrival occasions a romance with Pamela, while Mary falls in love with Lord Duncannon and has an on-again, off-again engagement with him. One of the major political events of this section is the parliamentary debate on Churchill’s handling of the war in Chapter 93, in which Churchill must grapple with political sentiment at home and give a defense of his policies, which, up until now, had been relatively unchallenged. This chapter drives home the point that Churchill’s policies met with opposition at times, and he had to defend himself. His opponents include a socialist leader who confesses to have “no faith in [Churchill’s] achieving anything of lasting benefit to humanity” (450). Churchill, however, ultimately triumphs over this opposition, thanks in no small part to his “oratorical powers,” and gains a majority vote of confidence on his leadership.
In this section, we see the Germans reacting directly to Churchill’s actions and speeches, to a greater degree than previously. There is even a humorous incident when Churchill’s habit of working in his underwear and in the bathtub leaks out to Hitler, causing amusement and ridicule. Goebbels’s smug self-assurance that the Germans will defeat England is rich in irony as the conflict escalates (434).
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