That Churchill Woman Read online

  Kelly Chian, Director, Production Editorial, Random House Publishing Group, deserves sainthood for enduring my process.

  My thanks go to others at Ballantine as well: unflappable editorial assistants Alyssa Matesic and Jesse Shuman, who answered each of my tedious queries correctly and with lightning speed; copy editor Deborah Dwyer, who sifted the entire manuscript for errors, inconsistencies, and outright bloopers with a thoroughness that saved me considerable embarrassment; publicist Allyson Lord, who heralded Jennie better than I could have myself. My sincere delight and surprise at the beauty of the cover image is due to Laura Klynstra. I love your vision, and your fund of patience with visually challenged authors.

  I am one of the few writers I know who has been lucky enough to be represented by one extraordinary literary agent (and dear friend) for my entire career. Without the hard work and canny insights of Rafe Sagalyn, I would long since have been lost. Madeira James and Jen Forbus of xuni.com are the visionaries behind my website; they have my sincere thanks.

  And finally—to Mark, Sam, and Steve, who endured endless snippets of Churchill trivia for too many hours to count—all my love. You guys rock.

  LETTERS CITED

  The author would like to thank the Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge, England, and Bloomsbury Publishing, administrator of subscriptions to churchillarchive.com, for access to the digital archives.

  This page: Letter from Leonard Jerome to Jennie Jerome, discussing her engagement, dated August 8, 1873. http://www.churchillarchive.com/​churchill-archive/​explore/​page?id=CHAR+28%2F1%2F25–26. Accessed 8/1/2018.

  This page: Letter from Lord Randolph Churchill (Blenheim Palace) to Jennie Jerome, later Lady Randolph Churchill, dated February 4, 1874, in which he discusses his victory in the Woodstock, Oxfordshire, election. http://www.churchillarchive.com/​churchill-archive/​explore/​page?id=CHAR+28%2F4%2F22–24. Accessed 8/1/2018.

  This page: Letter from Dr. Robson Roose to Lord Randolph Churchill, dated March 14, 1886, detailing “the approach of the crisis.” http://www.churchillarchive.com/​churchill-archive/​explore/​page?id=CHAR+28%2F47%2F1. Accessed 8/20/2018.

  This page: Telegram from Dr. Robson Roose to Lord Randolph Churchill, dated March 15, 1886, “The high temperature indicating exhaustion, I applied stimulants…” http://www.churchillarchive.com/​churchill-archive/​explore/​page?id=CHAR+28%2F47%2F2. Accessed 8/20/2018.

  This page: The New York Times, Saturday, July 4, 1863, p.1. “The Great Battles.” https://www.nytimes.com/​1863/​07/​04/​archives/​the-great-battles-our-special-telegrams-from-the-battle-field-to-10.html. Accessed 8/3/2018.

  This page: Letter from Dr. Robson Roose to Lord Randolph Churchill, dated March 15, 1886, informing him that “we are still fighting the battle for your Boy.” http://www.churchillarchive.com/​churchill-archive/​explore/​page?id=CHAR+28%2F47%2F3. Accessed 8/1/2018.

  This page: Letter from Dr. Robson Roose to Lord Randolph Churchill, dated March 15, 1886, in which he says that they have had “a very anxious night,” http://www.churchillarchive.com/​churchill-archive/​explore/​page?id=CHAR+28%2F47%2F5. Accessed 8/1/2018.

  This page: Letter from Lord Randolph Churchill to Lady Randolph Churchill from Jordal, Norway, dated July 10, 1886 including a description of his journey, his and “Tommy” (W. H. Trafford’s) success at fishing. http://www.churchillarchive.com/​churchill-archive/​explore/​page?id=CHAR+28%2F7%2F77–79. Accessed 8/1/2018.

  This page: Letter from Lord Randolph Churchill Norway to Lady Randolph Churchill from Jordal, Norway, dated July 13, 1886, noting that a Cabinet-level salary would be welcome. http://www.churchillarchive.com/​churchill-archive/​explore/​page?id=CHAR+28%2F7%2F80–81. Accessed 8/1/2018.

  This page: Letter from Lord Randolph Churchill to Lady Randolph Churchill describing his disgust at being pursued by newspaper reporters in Vienna, dated October 12, 1886. http://www.churchillarchive.com/​churchill-archive/​explore/​page?id=CHAR+28%2F7%2F85–86. Accessed 8/1/2018.

  This page: The Town Topics entry is cited by Ralph Martin in Jennie: The Life of Lady Randolph Churchill, Volume I, p. 299.

  This page: Letter from Lord Randolph Churchill, Kissingen, to Winston Spencer-Churchill, dated August 9, 1893, on Winston’s disappointing performance in the Sandhurst entrance examination and failure to pass well enough to join an infantry regiment. http://www.churchillarchive.com/​churchill-archive/​explore/​page?id=CHAR+1%2F2%2F66–68. Accessed 8/1/2018.

  This page: Letter dated November 18, 1894, from Lady Randolph Churchill to her sister Clarita Jerome Frewen, cited by great-niece Anita Leslie in Lady Randolph Churchill: The Story of Jennie Jerome, p. 199.

  This page: Letter from Lady Randolph Churchill to her sister Leonie Jerome Leslie, dated October 31, 1894, cited by grandson Peregrine Churchill and Julian Mitchell in Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill: A Portrait in Letters, p. 167.

  This page: Letter from Lady Randolph Churchill to her sister Leonie Jerome Leslie, dated December 1894, cited by grandson Peregrine Churchill and Julian Mitchell in Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill: A Portrait in Letters, p. 168.

  This page: Letter from Lady Randolph Churchill to her sister Leonie Jerome Leslie, dated January 3, 1895, cited by great-niece Anita Leslie in Lady Randolph Churchill: The Story of Jennie Jerome, p. 201.

  About the Author

  STEPHANIE BARRON is a graduate of Princeton and Stanford, where she was an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellow in the Humanities. She is the author of the stand-alone historical suspense novels A Flaw in the Blood and The White Garden, as well as the critically acclaimed and nationally bestselling Jane Austen Mystery series. A former intelligence analyst for the CIA, Stephanie—who also writes under the name Francine Mathews—drew on her experience in the field of espionage for such novels as Jack 1939, which The New Yorker described as “the most deliciously high-concept thriller imaginable.” She lives and works in Denver, Colorado.

  stephaniebarron.com

  Twitter: @SBarronAuthor

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