This book does what all good historical fiction should do: shed light on an unknown episode in history, this time by writing women back in history when so very often official records leave them out. All the female characters are written with a deft hand and a depth of information that makes the truly stand out of the I have to say I enjoyed finding out more about the woman at Churchill's side throughout one of the most important episodes in Western modern history.

Thank you Boukuture audio and Netgalley for this ALC.

Thank you #NetGalley and #Bookoutureaudio for an advance opportunity to listen to this phenomenal book. I truly am in awe at how much Clementine Churchill was able to accomplish during WW2. Her work in gathering all of the donations for the Aide for Russia campaign was truly inspiring, along with her work in creating hospitals for new mothers. This book has made me really want to research more about her work, and I really loved the narration from her point of view throughout this story. I thought her and Winston’s relationship was the picture perfect version of a marriage, and I am sure they were quite the duo.

As for Jenny and Ned, I understand why they were also written into this story, however I did not relate to these two characters and was not as invested as I was with Clementine. I think that it might because I was so mad at Jenny half of the book for allowing Ned to treat her as he did, it might be because I can’t relate and it is and was what was normal in their time period.

Overall, I thought this book was fantastic, and I truly appreciated the historical research and information at the end of the audiobook as well, and can’t wait to read another of this author’s books!

The English Wife by Anna Stuart
Narrated by Jane McDowell

There is so much that I never paid attention to during my history studies, and thankfully, historical fiction in my old age is helping to interest me into picking up what I missed. I knew the basics about Winston Churchill but I knew nothing about his wife, Clementine Churchill. Now I know that this remarkable woman set aside so many of her passions to be the rock behind Churchill. Unlike many other leaders, Churchill spoke to his wife about his fears, hopes, and ideas and she was a sounding board for them even if her opinions were often dismissed.

Fictional character Jenny (based on the real life Janet Murrow) shows us Clementine's willingness to mentor other women. But also, through the character of Jenny, Winston comes to better appreciate how he has held his wife back from pursuing very important acts of service for the people of his country and those in countries suffering greatly from the war and occupation. Clementine was more than ready to get her hands dirty, whether it was putting out fires from bombs or visiting the bomb shelters and doing all she could to make them more inhabitable for those who had to used them. She was also instrumental in creating maternity hospitals for the wives of officers, to better allow them to do their jobs without having to worry about the wives and children back home.

It's so different to see the war from this direction, from the side of the world leaders and politicians. Clementine could have sat back and enjoyed the luxuries due her station in life but she wanted to be helping people and that included the people in the occupied lands. I enjoyed learning more about Churchill by learning about his family and wife. Now I want to look at Anna Stuart's other works. Jane McDowell does a great job with the narration, voicing both English and US accents very well.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

The English Wife
By: Anna Stuart
Pub Date: March 26, 2025
I have read a couple of books about Clementine Churchill. Her marriage to Winston Churchill was not easy, but he relied on her during the darkest of times and the people loved her.
She knew when they married of his ambitions, but little did they know that he would become Prime Minister during the war with Hitler.
Clementine helped the community around her and visited hospitals and helped the people.
The author notes were fascinating. Clementine was engaged a couple of times before marrying Winston and they had 5 children. Her aristocratic background was unknown to me. Stuart always delivers a fascinating historical fiction novel.
The narrator was phenomenal.