For New York Times best-selling author Candice Millard, the idea for “Hero of The Empire: The Boer War, A Daring Escape and the Making of Winston Churchill” (Doubleday, $30) began forming 25 years ago.
“When my husband (who began his journalism career in South Africa) and I first met, he told me the basic idea of the story,” Millard said. “He said, ‘Did you know Churchill was a prisoner of war and he escaped?’ and I was like, ‘What? I’d never heard that story.’ And it stayed with me all this time so when my publisher asked me if I had any ideas on what to write about next, I told them about Churchill and they said, ‘Asolutely.’”
Even after a 25-year wait, the story took over four years of research and writing.
“It takes a great deal of research, the process is about 80 percent research, but it’s my favorite part and I don’t resent a minute of it," Millard said. "It’s actually hard for me to stop to outline and begin to write the story.”
In researching “Hero of the Empire,” she went through archives and journals and also spent weeks in South Africa and England, visiting the actual sites where the story takes place. South Africa preserved many of the historical sites, which she said helped with writing the smaller details of the book.
“Particularly for narrative nonfiction, to make it a page turner and make people feel like they’re actually there, you need such a massive amount of research or you can’t have dialogue or details," Millard said. "There has to be an enormous mass of research.”
Millard’s research was key in telling a story about Churchill that wasn’t something others had written about or something readers were familiar with.
“It was incredibly daunting to step into this world because (biographies are) written by so many distinguished historians,” Millard said. “What really intrigued me about this particular story was it was really revealing about who (Churchill) was as a man and how he became who we think of when we think of Winston Churchill.”
“Hero of the Empire” chronicles the time period in Churchill’s life when he worked as a reporter covering the Colonial War between the British and the Boer rebels. Churchill had just come off of a losing election and wanted to make a name for himself doing something extraordinary. When the armored train he was traveling on was ambushed and Churchill was taken prisoner, it looked like the opportunity for glory was dashed. Against all odds, Churchill managed a daring escape, traveled hundreds of miles through enemy territory, and returned a hero.
“To Great Britain’s shock and horror, they were losing the war and they needed to rally and boost morale, and that’s what he gave them,” Millard said.
The fact that Churchill’s story continues after this brilliant escape and he enlists in the army, returns to the war and ends up liberating the other prisoners is what Millard said fascinated her the most about her biographical subject.
“The biggest quality we see is that he just never gives up,” Millard said. “All these things happen to him that he could never see coming. They are real problems, but he seizes control of it and bends it to his will, and he turns it into something that will propel him to power.”
That position of power, eventual prime minister of the United Kingdom, is what most people know Churchill for, but that is not what Millard found to be the most impressive thing about him.
“Most people, American or even British, think of this old man sending young men into war, but what surprised me immediately and impressed me was how fully developed his personality was at such a young age,” Millard said. “From the ages of 23 and 25, I can remember myself at that age, I had no idea who I wanted to be and how to get there. Churchill knew he was destined to be great and that he must push to be the best.”
In Millard’s research, she says a lot of Churchill's qualities as a leader can be seen early on.
“No one pushed harder than him," Millard said. "At this young age, he was so articulate and intelligent and arrogant and audacious; all these qualities we see in his leadership. His personality that we love in him as a leader was fully there at such a young age, throughout this whole story.”
Millard not only writes a gripping story with fascinating detail, stunning quotes and a page-turning narrative quality but also succeeds in bringing a historical story into modern times in a way the reader can relate to and find interesting.
“I love turning back the clock,” Millard said. “Turning back the time, seeing how things are different and also seeing how much as a people we’re the same. No matter where in the world or what time period, there’s this shared humanity. Through all of our problems, our concerns are the same, but so are our hopes.”
"Hero of the Empire" doesn't contain any swearing or sexual content but does contain nongraphic references to war violence.
If you go …
What: Candice Millard book signing
When: Monday, Oct. 3, 7 p.m.
Where: The King’s English Bookshop, 1511 S. 1500 East
Web: kingsenglish.com, candicemillard.com
Note: The signing line is for those who buy a copy of the featured book from The King's English.
Tara Creel is a Logan-native-turned-California-girl and mother of four boys. Her email is taracreel@gmail.com, and she blogs at taracreelbooks.wordpress.com.