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Lord Randolph Churchill (book)

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Lord Randolph Churchill was a two-part biography written by Winston Churchill of his father, the Victorian politician Lord Randolph Churchill. It was first published in 1906.

Background

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From 1903 until 1905, Churchill was engaged in writing Lord Randolph Churchill, a two-volume biography of his father which was published in 1906 and received much critical acclaim.[1] However, filial devotion caused him to soften some of his father's less attractive aspects.[2] Theodore Roosevelt, who had known Lord Randolph, reviewed the book as "a clever, tactful and rather cheap and vulgar life of that clever, tactful and rather cheap and vulgar egotist".[3] Some historians suggest Churchill used the book in part to vindicate his own career and in particular to justify his crossing the floor to the Conservative Party in 1924.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Jenkins (2001), pp. 102–103
  2. ^ Jenkins (2001), p. 101
  3. ^ Cannadine (2005), p. 47
  4. ^ e.g. Cannadine (2005), p. 41, Rhodes James (1970), pp. 34–35

Sources

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  • Cannadine, David (2005). Churchill: The Aristocratic Adventurer: Aspects of Aristocracy. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-102215-4.
  • Jenkins, Roy (2001). Churchill: A Biography. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-78290-9.
  • Rhodes James, Robert (1970). Churchill: A Study in Failure, 1900–1939. Penguin Books.
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