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    Darkest Hour: How Churchill Brought England Back from the Brink
    Darkest Hour: How Churchill Brought England Back from the Brink
    Darkest Hour: How Churchill Brought England Back from the Brink
    Audiobook6 hours

    Darkest Hour: How Churchill Brought England Back from the Brink

    Written by Anthony McCarten

    Narrated by John Lee

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    “McCarten's pulse-pounding narrative transports the reader to those springtime weeks in 1940 when the fate of the world rested on the shoulders of Winston Churchill. A true story thrillingly told. Thoroughly researched and compulsively readable.”—Michael F. Bishop, Executive Director of the International Churchill Society

    From the acclaimed novelist and screenwriter of The Theory of Everything comes a revelatory look at the period immediately following Winston Churchill’s ascendancy to Prime Minister

    “He was speaking to the nation, the world, and indeed to history....”

    May, 1940. Britain is at war. The horrors of blitzkrieg have seen one western European democracy after another fall in rapid succession to Nazi boot and shell. Invasion seems mere hours away.

    Just days after becoming Prime Minister, Winston Churchill must deal with this horror—as well as a skeptical King, a party plotting against him, and an unprepared public. Pen in hand and typist-secretary at the ready, how could he change the mood and shore up the will of a nervous people?

    In this gripping day-by-day, often hour-by-hour account of how an often uncertain Churchill turned Britain around, the celebrated Bafta-winning writer Anthony McCarten exposes sides of the great man never seen before. He reveals how he practiced and re-wrote his key speeches, from ‘Blood, toil, tears and sweat’ to ‘We shall fight on the beaches’; his consideration of a peace treaty with Nazi Germany, and his underappreciated role in the Dunkirk evacuation; and, above all, how 25 days helped make one man an icon.

    Using new archive material, McCarten reveals the crucial behind-the-scenes moments that changed the course of history. It’s a scarier—and more human—story than has ever been told.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateNov 7, 2017
    ISBN9780062796493
    Author

    Anthony McCarten

    Anthony McCarten is a New Zealand-born novelist, playwright, journalist, television writer and four-time Academy Award nominated filmmaker. He is best known for writing the biopics The Theory of Everything (2014), Darkest Hour (2017), Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) and The Two Popes (2019), and producing motion pictures that entertain and inspire through the examination of some of history’s most interesting people. He received Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Theory of Everything and The Two Popes, and won two BAFTA awards for the former. Notably, the first three of these films won consecutive Oscars in the Best Actor category (for Eddie Redmayne, Gary Oldman and Rami Malik). Bohemian Rhapsody is the second highest grossing box-office drama of all time, after Titanic. His non-fiction work, Darkest Hour, was a Number 1 Sunday Times Bestseller. He lives in London. 

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    Reviews for Darkest Hour

    4.5/5

    137 ratings11 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Title: Darkest Hour: How Churchill Brought England Back From the BrinkAuthor: Anthony McCartenPages: 336Year: 2017Publisher: Harper PerennialMy rating 4 out of 5 stars.What an enigma of a man! I watched the movie, The Darkest Hour, and was struck by how much I didn’t know about Winston Churchill. There were references in the movie about Churchill, his father and family that I wondered if they were matters of fact or fiction. Personally, I agree with the author that Churchill prepared for this moment in history whether he knew it or not. The man was loved by his wife and people even though others disliked and ignored him.I found him to be a man who took learning in a school setting with little interest, but in the world as a young man he thirsted for knowledge. Churchill would have his mother ship books to wherever he was, so he could read and learn. The amount of writing Winston did is astounding let alone a lot of what he did was written at a young age. The wealth of insight the man had and heart of a patriot is so deeply touching.Clemmie, his wife, was a special woman who adored her husband. This book didn’t talk a lot about his children, though he has many descendants. There have been many books written about him and by him. To me, that speaks of man who few can explain easily with a book. Lord Halifax is definitely a man I wouldn’t have wanted to work with, and frankly Parliament is hard for me to comprehend.I would recommend this book if you haven’t done much reading about the man Winston Churchill as this is a good place to start. I found the information easy to understand and written to be very engaging. I plan on learning more about this unique person. Here is man Britain had at a time they truly needed him. He withstood enemies, both within the government and without. However, looking back we see a man who was brave and brought his nation back from the brink of extinction!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Very clear presentation of facts regarding critical month Churchill became PM. Shows perceived weakness and dithering to be a strength. Excellent
    • 5/5
      Excellent, held my attention throughout the whole book. It's written and presented in a manner that draws one into the events; looking forward to more of the same.
    • 5/5
      Sir,
      Listening was very additive. I could not tear myself away from it. Always liked reading,listening, buying books on Sir Winston anytime. Yours rendered beautifully. Thank you. With regards . Narendra Mittal. New Delhi
    • 2/5
      Meh. It was okay. Not s waste but the narrator was boring. His Churchill was flat and the other voices not enough different to make them interesting.
    • 2/5
      An author who doesn't know the difference between England and the United Kingdom. He even uses 'England' in the title, when referring to Britain (which is also the United Kingdom).
    • 4/5
      Well written narrative up to the evacuation at Dunkirk. Hint: Churchill was not well liked by Chamberlain and he switched parties more than once. This book explores the political environment in which Churchill found himself in the mid to late 1930’s, including England’s disappearing allies to come to stand alone or go down fighting in a war against fascism. His mark in history sealed by his oratory, rallying for democracy when the world began to close in.
    • 5/5
      Churchill was an amazing leader of that time. His life style and unique leadership traits are very elegantly described in this book.
    • 4/5
      I found it very interesting and informative learning things about Churchill and the lead-up of the early part of the war for England that I did not know. it got a little tedious at times with so many personalities and details but overall it was worth the listen.
    • 5/5
      Gripping account of Churchill in 1940. Becoming Prime Minister with those around him sceptical of his abilities, with France falling, Italy about to enter the war, and British troops collecting on Dunkirk with little hope of being rescued. Anthony McCarten gives an almost moment-by-moment account of Churchill’s meetings, revealing the leader’s doubts, the uncertainty of the time and the near capitulation to Hitler. Such accomplished writing that I felt I was a sceptical participant in those meetings watching a performer who is known, but not as a safe pair of hands. Rather than a retelling of history with the certainty of hindsight, McCarten brings the country’s ‘darkest hour’ to life, as if it were happening in the moment, with all the uncertainty that that entails. A fascinating read.
    • 5/5
      A focused presentation on a brief, but pivotal selection of speeches made by Winston Churchill around May 1940. The author makes a compelling argument that Churchill did in fact contemplate the possibility of a negotiated peace with Germany before making the decision that, win or lose and irrespective of support from allies, Britain would fight the Nazis to the bitter end.This book was an enjoyable read, and presented in a clear and logical manner.