Existing comment:
Shakespeare and "a history of the English-speaking peoples"
Only Shakespeare has portrayed its savage yet heroic lineaments; and he does not attempt to draw conclusions.
-- Churchill on the Wars of the Roses in "A History of the English-Speaking Peoples"
Churchill began writing A History of the English-Speaking Peoples in the 1930s, but put it on hold until after World War II. Shakespeare's works influenced his vision of the Elizabethan era, while his experience of two world wars shaped his accounts of more recent events.
Churchill's four volumes of A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, published between 1956 and 1958, were popular in both England and the United States. Although Churchill received help and advice from various historians, the large scheme of the history was his own. After setting the scene, he would fill in the details, writing of his method: "if facts are lacking, rumour must serve." As Churchill wrote about the early English kings and the reign of Elizabeth I, it is obvious that he had Shakespeare's history plays in mind. It is also clear that his reactions to events of the past were colored by his own experiences through two world wars. For example, he describes Henry V building up the Royal Navy, a subject dear to his own heart, having been First Lord of the Admiralty twice, at the opening of both World War I and World War II. Though today we may fault Churchill for ignoring parts of the English speaking world other than Britain and North America, in style and appeal the work is still good popular history. |