Churchill and 'The Daughter of Time'

I've just been reading 'The Fringes of Power' - the Downing Street
Diaries, 1939-1955, of John Colville, Sir Winston Churchill's Private
Secretary.

The diary entry for April 19th 1952 includes this item:

"Am in corespondence with George Trevelyan [historian, master of
Trinity College, Cambridge], the Lord Chancellor [Lord Simmonds], and
Tommy Lascelles [George VI's Private Secretary] about a book
called 'The Daughter of Time' which seeks to prove that the Princes
in the Tower were murdered not by Richard III but by Henry VII."

Colville adds a footnote saying that the book had facinated Sir Alan
Lascelles, the Lord Chancellor, and him. He also says that "I
persuaded Churchill to read the book: he said he still thought
Richard III was the villain".

--- In @y..., "Eric Thompson"
<ej.thompson@b...> wrote:
> I've just been reading 'The Fringes of Power' - the Downing Street
> Diaries, 1939-1955, of John Colville, Sir Winston Churchill's
> Private Secretary.
>
> The diary entry for April 19th 1952 includes this item:
>
> "Am in corespondence with George Trevelyan [historian, master of
> Trinity College, Cambridge], the Lord Chancellor [Lord Simmonds],
> and
> Tommy Lascelles [George VI's Private Secretary] about a book
> called 'The Daughter of Time' which seeks to prove that the Princes
> in the Tower were murdered not by Richard III but by Henry VII."
>
> Colville adds a footnote saying that the book had facinated Sir
> Alan
> Lascelles, the Lord Chancellor, and him. He also says that "I
> persuaded Churchill to read the book: he said he still thought
> Richard III was the villain".


Since then I've seen the 'Long Sunset', the memoirs of Anthony
Montague Browne, Winston Churchill's last Private Secretary, which
gives more of the background. Discussing his relations with Sir Alan
('Tommy') Lascelles, the Queen's Principal Private Secretary,
Montague Browne says [page 151]:

"Lascelles had read 'The Daughter of Time', which sought to
rehabilitate the nasty reputation of Richard III, claiming that
Shakespeare as a Tudor PR man had done a hatchet job on him.
Lascelles was much impressed by the book and sent it to the Prime
Minister for his opinion as a working historian. WSC was busy, bade
me read the book and draft an answer. I did so, consulted an Oxford
don, and drafted accordingly, thanking Lascelles 'for his interesting
historical aberration'. He was miffed at this unceremonious
dismissal of his pet theory, but WSC was amused and did not give me
away."

So the reply wasn't Churchill's own, though he authorised it being
sent in his name.

At 02:56 PM 10/1/02 -0000, you wrote:
>--- In @y..., "Eric Thompson"
><ej.thompson@b...> wrote:

[Snip delicious gossip about Winston Churchill's "reaction" to Josephine
Tey's book]

I remember reading Churchill in the early 60s and deciding, based on his
treatment of the Wars of the Roses, that he was no historian --
scandalizing my father, who considered Churchill a living legend never to
be questioned about anything.

--
Laura Blanchard
lblancha@... (Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special
Collections Libraries
lblanchard@... (all other mail)
Home office: 215-985-1445 voice, -1446 fax
http://pobox.upenn.edu/~lblancha

--- In @y..., Laura Blanchard <lblanchard@r...>
wrote:
> I remember reading Churchill in the early 60s and deciding, based
> on his
> treatment of the Wars of the Roses, that he was no historian --

I recall ordering the first volume of his 'History of the English
Speaking People' when it first came out, and being so disgusted by
it's old-fashioned approach when it arrived that I cancelled my order
for the succeeding volumes.

At 01:31 PM 10/3/02 -0000, you wrote:
>--- In @y..., Laura Blanchard <lblanchard@r...>
>wrote:
>> I remember reading Churchill in the early 60s and deciding, based
>> on his
>> treatment of the Wars of the Roses, that he was no historian --
>
>I recall ordering the first volume of his 'History of the English
>Speaking People' when it first came out, and being so disgusted by
>it's old-fashioned approach when it arrived that I cancelled my order
>for the succeeding volumes.
>

Lucky you. I bought the "deluxe boxed paperback set" for $5 in 1963...

--
Laura Blanchard
lblancha@... (Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special
Collections Libraries
lblanchard@... (all other mail)
Home office: 215-985-1445 voice, -1446 fax
http://pobox.upenn.edu/~lblancha