About this item
The popular story of Churchill's war-time rhetoric is a simple one: the British people were energized and inspired by his speeches, which were almost universally admired and played an important role in the ultimate victory over Nazi Germany. Richard Toye now re-examines this accepted national story - and gives it a radical new spin. Using survey evidence and the diaries of ordinary people, he shows how reactions to Churchill's speeches at the time were often very different from what we have always been led to expect. His first speeches as Prime Minister in the dark days of 1940 were by no means universally acclaimed. Indeed, many people thought that he was drunk during his famous 'finest hour' broadcast - and there is little evidence that they made a decisive difference to the British people's will to fight on.
About the Author
Richard Toye was born in Cambridge, UK in 1973 and spent the first part of his childhood there. As a teenager his interest in history was stimulated by reading the works of George Orwell and Robert Graves. He studied at the universities of Birmingham and Cambridge, and is now a Professor at the University of Exeter. In 2007 he was named Young Academic Author of the Year for his book on Lloyd George and Churchill.
