Dear David,
Yes – it is of great interest, especially in view of your first-hand
knowledge of the place.
By the way, is there a convenient web page with a plan of Chartwell Manor
which would enable one to follow more easily your excellent account of the
reorganisation of the floor, pulling down partitions, etc ?
Best wishes,
Professor Antoine CAPET, FRHistS
Head of British Studies
University of Rouen
76821 Mont-Saint-Aignan
France
antoine.ca...@univ-rouen.fr
'Britain since 1914' Section Editor
Royal Historical Society Bibliography
Reviews Editor of CERCLES
http://www.cercles.com/review/reviews.html
==========================================
From: David Riddle
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2016 11:48 PM
To: churchillchat@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [ChurchillChat] USA TV Broadcast of Churchill's Secret
Stan..
I am surprised to hear that the author made any attempt to refer to 'concern
for historical accuracy' when referring to a work of fiction.
One thing I can reliably comment on, whilst trusting I'm not saying
something I shouldn't, is that if a glass case containing butterflies was
featured, then it wasn't, and isn't actually at Chartwell!!
The truth of the matter is that the film was shot, if I recall correctly in
July 2015. The House was not closed to visitors during the three or four
days over which the location shots were taken, meaning that there was no
opportunity to set up rooms for filming between the hours of 10 and 5, so
the only filming of the front of the House and internally that could be
fitted in was carried out in the late afternoon and early evening. As a
consequence, the only internal shots that are actually of Chartwell itself
are of the entrance hall. All the rest were carefully and, in my view, very
accurately constructed sets. I was certainly taken in myself by the general
accuracy of the Study, where it is claimed his bed was moved to. As some may
know it was the case that Sir Winston originally had his bed in the Study
when the 'Nursery Wing' was being used for that purpose. At some point in
the mid-30s, we think, by which time Mary had moved to her second-floor
teenage bedroom, Sir Winston decided to knock through the right-hand side of
the Study in to what was originally the Nursery Day Room and convert that in
to a proper bedroom, together with an en-suite bathroom located in the
gable-end section at the front of the House.
I hope this is of interest.
David Riddle
Sent from my iPhone
On 13 Sep 2016, at 22:10, Stan A. Orchard <bullfrogcont...@shaw.ca> wrote:
There are many little things to quibble about in the broadcast version of
this work of fiction. Such as when Churchill presents his nurse with only
one volume of a four-volume set of his History of the English-speaking
Peoples. Would anyone actually do that? I noted a glass case on the wall
in one of the Chartwell rooms containing pinned butterflies. However, when
I was putting together a talk about Churchill and Insects a few years ago I
communicated with people at Chartwell and at the British Museum who assured
me that none of the insects that Churchill collected early in life were
either recorded or displayed in any institutional collection. Of greater
concern to me was when Churchill's nurse tells him that he was not highly
regarded by her father after Churchill had sent troops in to crush striking
Welsh miners and Churchill says nothing in response. This is where
injecting a bit of historical accuracy could have helpfully clarified a
persistent slander against Churchill that still routinely crops up in the
media. In the background piece that followed the production the author
spoke of his concern for historical accuracy which simply reinforces the
notion that this slander is accurate as presented.
Stan
On 2016-09-13 1:18 PM, David Riddle wrote:
I think everyone who has commented to date on this film is treating this
film far too seriously.
It is freely based on a work of fiction 'The Churchill Secret KBO' by
Jonathan Smith. The critical word here is 'fiction'. There is no point in
trying to relate it to the actual facts of the situation, even if anyone,
living or otherwise, believes they know what they really were. After all,
the whole event was kept secret, so the real truth is pretty difficult to
ascertain.
The character of the nurse is freely admitted to be fictional, as are some
of the other situations portrayed in the film.
Fundamentally, the piece should be viewed as a largely fictional drama, and
in my view, as well as that of several of my fellow volunteer House Stewards
at Chartwell at least, it was well produced with some good performances and
enjoyable in its own right.
David Riddle
Sent from my iPhone
On 13 Sep 2016, at 18:11, Cita Stelzer <c...@irwinstelzer.com> wrote:
Whether “Churchill‘s Secret”, broadcast in the USA last night, was riveting
television I leave to the critics. But that it was historically inaccurate
at one important point there is no doubt. Lindsay Duncan’s beautifully acted
television version of Clemmie as a wife competing with his political career
for his time and attention has no relation to the real-life version.
Clementine Churchill, as I point out in my review of Sonia Purnell’s
biography of Clementine Churchill, was no whining woman at odds with her
husband’s political life. In fact, Clemmie was a full partner in his
political career, entertaining politicians and military figures when he was
away in the trenches in WWI. And as any fair reading of their voluminous
correspondence shows, offering wise advice to the often impetuous-Winston,
advice that prolonged his career. Not only was she a full partner in his
work, she had a full and rich life of her own, witness her fund-raising work
for the Red Cross’s Aid to the Soviet Union. Kudos to Ms. Duncan, and don’t
blame her for being asked to portray the fiction of a novelist’s
imagination.
Cita Stelzer
Cita Stelzer
Please note new email address:
c...@irwinstelzer.com
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"ChurchillChat" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
email to churchillchat+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to churchillchat@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"ChurchillChat" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
email to churchillchat+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to churchillchat@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
-- *************************************** BullfrogControl.com Inc. 69A
Burnside Road West Victoria, British Columbia CANADA V9A 1B6 250-858-3764
(FROG) bullfrogcont...@shaw.ca www.bullfrogcontrol.com --
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"ChurchillChat" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
email to churchillchat+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to churchillchat@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"ChurchillChat" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
email to churchillchat+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to churchillchat@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
---
L'absence de virus dans ce courrier électronique a été vérifiée par le logiciel
antivirus Avast.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"ChurchillChat" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to churchillchat+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to churchillchat@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
