CHURCHILL, Winston S.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

The World Crisis 1911-1918. Abridged and Revised Edition. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To J. W. Drawbell from Winston S. Churchill, July 1940". The recipient, James Wedgwood Drawbell (1899-1979), was editor of the Sunday Chronicle from 1925 to 1946. He serialized The World Crisis in the newspaper from 1 October 1939 to 30 June 1940. He paid Churchill £50 a week, providing him an important source of income.In his autobiography, Drawbell recalled that Churchill wrote on 10 July 1940 to thank him for completing the serialization. "Accompanying the letter was a copy of Mr. Churchill's book, The World Crisis. He had autographed the fly leaf. The significance of the letter is its date. In the midst of all his anxieties, when every waking moment must have been concerned with the coming Battle of Britain, the Prime Minister found time to make this charming and courteous gesture" (James Drawbell, An Autobiography, 1964, p. 350). The World Crisis was first published in six volumes from 1923 to 1931. The abridged edition was first published in February 1931; this is the third impression, issued in October 1937.

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