Churchill Wanted Dead Or Alive

Product Description

Celia Sandys goes ‘in grandfather’s footsteps’ to retrace young Winston Churchill’s adventures during nine months of the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa – where Churchill served as war correspondent, combatant (at Spion Kop and Ladysmith), prisoner-of-war and escapee.
Celia Sandys has uncovered a hitherto neglected part of Churchill’s life using many previously untapped sources and giving many hitherto unknown facts and anecdotes.
In 1899, within two weeks of his arrival in South Africa to cover the Boer War as a journalist for London’s Morning Post, the twenty-four-year-old Churchill was taken prisoner when his train was ambushed by a Boer patrol. Churchill first enabled most of his companions to escape to safety before he himself was captured and taken to Pretoria, his daring escape prompting a massive manhunt. Evading recapture by taking refuge in a coalmine, then hiding in a goods wagon, his exploits propelled him overnight on to the international stage.
One hundred years after these events Celia Sandys followed in her grandfather’s footsteps, visiting campsites, battlefields, the site of his incarceration in Pretoria, and the route of his escape, uncovering a host of fascinating details about this tumultuous period in his early life. Churchill Wanted Dead or Alive is both a thrilling adventure story and a unique insight into the life of a young man who went on to become one of his country’s greatest leaders.

Review

‘Well-researched and compelling… a fine portrait.’Andrew Roberts, Literary Review
‘A cracking good yarn… absorbing, down-to-earth.’Elizabeth Clarke, Independent on Sunday
‘Ground-breaking… excitingly told… many hitherto unknown facts and anecdotes… elegant.’Giles Foden, Guardian
‘A fascinating story, told with a rare combination of insight, thoroughness and charm.’Alan Judd, Sunday Telelgraph
‘Clear, concise and highly readable.’Stephen Pritchard, Observer.

From the Back Cover

For sheer audacity and excitement, nothing in Winston Churchill's long and distinguished life would compare to his adventures as a war correspondent (and participant) in the Boer War 100 years ago. Hs exploits in South Africa propelled him overnight onto the international stage and laid the foundations of his future political career.
'Celia Sandys has researched her grandfather's time in South Africa more thoroughly than anyone else… The story of Churchill's capture by the Boers is thrilling and heroic… This is a fascinating story, told with a rare combination of insight, thoroughness and charm.'ALAN JUDD 'Sunday Telegraph'
'A ground-breaking book – surprisingly the first to really get to grips with this period of Churchill's life apart from his own… excitingly told.'GILES FODEN 'Guardian'
'This excellent short book, covering the years 1899 to 1902, shows how all-consuming was Churchill's lust for fame, glory and medals… a well-researched and compelling adventure story… this well-written, fast-moving narrative is a fine portrait of a young man in a hurry, albeit one who cut corners to reach his glorious destination.'ANDREW ROBERTS 'Literary Review'
'A cracking good yarn… an absorbing, down-to-earth read.'ELIZABETH CLARKE 'Independent on Sunday'
'Throughout, she displays a Churchillian way with prose: clear, concise and highly readable.'STEPHEN PRITCHARD 'Observer'

About the Author

Celia Sandys is a granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill. Her mother was Churchill’s eldest daughter, Diana, and her father Lord Duncan-Sandys, the former cabinet minister and member of his father-in-law’s wartime government. She is married, has four children and lives in Wiltshire. Her only previous book was From Winston With Love and Kisses: The Young Churchill (Sinclair Stevenson 1994). She has lectured in America, Canada, Japan and Britain.