The Literary Churchill

For many (myself included), Winston Churchill is primarily known as a politician. Jonathan Rose's* new book, The Literary Churchill: Author, Reader, Actor (Yale University Press, $35), seeks to disabuse us of that shallow description and introduce us to the Churchill we don't know. Detailing his relationships with publishers, editors, and agents, as well as the authors who shaped his writing, Rose shows the larger canvas of Churchill's literary work and traces the influence of his personal reading on his public life.

To those readers surprised by the fact that Churchill won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953, take a look at this full bibliography of his 43 book-length works (in 72 volumes), starting with 1898's The Story of the Malakand Field Force and ending with the posthumous limited edition publication of The Dream in 1987. Collectors might also be interested in a Churchill specialty bookshop called Chartwell Booksellers in New York City, where you can browse and buy Churchill's works and download chapters from Richard M. Langworth's book, A Connoisseur's Guide to the Books of Sir Winston Churchill.

*Who, in full disclosure, was my MA thesis adviser at Drew University, where he is William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of History. He was also the founding president of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing (SHARP) and is co-editor of the journal Book History. 

Image via Yale University Press.