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

Rudolf Hess once again takes off for Scotland in his Messerschmitt plane from the airfield at Augsburg, Germany. Goring calls Adolf Galland and orders him to use his entire fighter squad to stop Hess. Meanwhile, British radar experts detect Hess’s plane flying over Britain toward Scotland and attempt to intercept it. 

Over six hours on the night of May 10, the Luftwaffe carries out a violent raid on London. Westminster, the Tower of London, the Law Courts, and other historic treasures are gravely damaged. The goal of the raid seems to be to kill Churchill and his government; they remain unscathed, although the main chamber of the House of Commons is destroyed. Harriman’s secretary, Robert Meiklejohn, takes refuge in the bomb shelter of his hotel.

Around 11 o’clock at night, Hess begins to run out of fuel in his plane and emergency-lands in a field in Scotland, about 10 miles from his destination. A farmer takes him in, and police soon arrive and arrest him. During questioning at the police station near Glasgow, Hess claims to be a Captain Alfred Horn. However, Major Donald, one of the questioners, recognizes him as Rudolf Hess, “No. 3 in the Nazi hierarchy” (473). 

The next morning, Colville surveys the damage caused by the air raid. The “cerulean skies” of the beautiful spring day contrast starkly with “great shrouds of smoke” and “flames of massed blazes” still burning in different parts of the city (474).

Colville receives a call from the Duke of Hamilton, who wants to come and meet with Churchill’s officials to talk about the mysterious aircraft that crashed in Scotland the previous night. In Berlin, Hitler is enraged at Hess’s action and fearful about how Churchill will react to it. 

The May 10 raid on London is the worst of the war, killing 1,436 people and injuring another 1,792. One poignantly symbolic loss is suffered by the novelist Rose Macaulay, whose collection of rare books perishes in the flames in her apartment.

Goebbels attempts to smooth over the Hess affair with propaganda depicting the deputy as insane, but he secretly worries that the incident is “the last hard test of our character and of our staying power” (482). Churchill gives orders for Hess to be treated “with dignity,” but also with caution as a potential war criminal. The Hess affair fascinates the public and causes much discussion.

As the first year of Churchill’s leadership draws to a close, all are aware that he has revived the courage of the British people and that “only he had the power to make the nation believe that it could win” (483). May 11 marks the end of the Blitz. In all, London has lost nearly 29,000 of its residents, and 28,556 have been seriously injured. 

On December 7, 1941, Churchill and his family and associates gather at Chequers. There they hear on the radio the shocking news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. On the phone, Roosevelt tells Churchill that he intends to declare war on Japan the next day. On December 11 Germany declares war on America, and America reciprocates. Roosevelt and Churchill realized that “the inevitable has finally arrived” and that they are in the same boat fighting the war together (486).

Churchill, Beaverbrook, and Harriman travel aboard a battleship to Washington, DC, to coordinate war strategy with Roosevelt. At the White House, Churchill delivers a rousing Christmas Eve speech with Roosevelt at his side. After visiting Canada, Churchill and company return home toasting “a year of toil, a year of struggle and peril, and a long step forward to Victory!” (490). 

In the Epilogue, Larson summarizes what became of each of the principal characters. Mary becomes an anti-aircraft gunner assigned to a heavy-gun battery in Hyde Park. After getting fitted with contact lenses, Colville passes his medical exam and enters the RAF as a fighter pilot.

Beaverbrook resigns for good in February 1942, his and Churchill’s friendship still strong. In 1943 Churchill appoints him as Lord Privy Seal, but Beaverbrook resigns from this job as well, as Churchill himself leaves office. The Prof confirms through his research that the RAF and the Luftwaffe were about equally matched in terms of numbers, but that the British belief that they were outnumbered gave them a psychological advantage.

Pamela and Averell continue their love affair, to the scandal of some but the delight and acceptance of Churchill. As Harriman takes on various political posts through the years, their relationship wanes. Finally, in 1971, they marry.

Goring is condemned to death at the Nuremberg trials. Goebbels commits suicide along with his wife a day after Hitler’s own suicide. Hess is tried at Nuremberg and is unrepentant. He is sentenced to life in prison, where he commits suicide by hanging himself in 1987. Galland survives the war and is arrested by the American forces.

After the war, Churchill’s Conservative Party is voted out of office, forcing Churchill’s resignation. He is succeeded by Clement Attlee, the leader of the Labour Party.