The Gathering Storm, the first edition of the first volume of Churchill's history of the Second World War, inscribed and dated to his first cousin Clare Sheridan, "the nearest thing to a sister that Winston ever had." de Winston S. Churchill - 1948

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1948. First edition, first printing. This first edition of the first volume of The Second World War is inscribed and dated less than a month after publication to Churchill's first cousin Clare Sheridan, "the nearest thing to a sister that Winston ever had." The unusually personal inscription inked in black in six lines on the first free endpaper reads: "From | Winston | to | Clare | Jul 17 | 1948". The inscription date is 26 days after publication, two and a half months before publication of the British first edition. Clare Consuelo Frewen Sheridan (1885-1970) was an accomplished sculptress and writer. Strong-willed, restless, fiercely independent, and intellectually curious, Clare shared many characteristics with her famous cousin, but lived a hedonistic, promiscuous life that was both financially and socially turbulent. Her cousin Winston was a presence throughout that life, as she was in his. Clare was the middle of three children born to Winston's Aunt Clara Jerome Frewen (1851-1935) and Moreton Frewen (the famously slipshod editor of Winston's first book). Clare was the only girl among the eight children born to the three famous Jerome sisters. In Clare's childhood, cousin Winston was already a formidable presence. "Winston was a large schoolboy when I was still in the nursery... He filled me with awe." (Nuda Veritas, Clare Sheridan, p.14) Clare married Wilfred Sheridan in 1910. When their second daughter, born in 1913, died in her first year, "Clare was devastated and began her first attempts at sculpture to escape her grief." (Fortune's Daughters, p.302) Their only son Richard was born on 20 September 1915 and Wilfred was killed a few days later leading his men at the Battle of Loos. (FD, p.303) Winston wrote to Clare: "I know there is nothing I can write can ease a single throb of your immense sorrow, or soothe a moment of your loss. In the face of this terrible event I feel by how fond I am of you, how we have always been friends since you were a little tot... (Letter of 3 October 1915) Wilfred's death both devastated and released Clare; for the rest of her life she would make her living sculpting and writing. Clare and Winston's relationship was tested by her Bolshevik sympathies in the early 1920s, but endured. At the height of the war in 1942, Clare sculpted Winston. "...she came to him in the morning while he was still in bed... in the underground shelter, which had become the night-time annexe of the Prime Minister's residence... Clare grew frustrated trying to capture him, as he refused to keep still or to give up his cigar... but one morning managed to seize a few uninterrupted hours and finished the piece." (FD, p.378) Bronze versions of Clare's bust of Winston reside at Blenheim Palace, Chartwell, Harrow School, and Hastings Town Hall. Clare wrote to Winston later that year: "You have pulled us through the dark tunnel into the light of dawn!" (8 November 1942 Letter from Clare to Winston) The Second World War was published in six volumes between 1948 and 1953. This copy of The Gathering Storm is distinguished by the presence of all first edition points, including yellow-orange topstain, red and yellow head and foot bands, publication date at the foot of the title page, and absence of a Book-of-the-Month Club indentation on the lower rear cover. Condition is very good overall. The binding remains tight and square with sharp corners, showing mild spine toning and modest wear, mostly confined to the spine ends and corners. The contents remain internally bright with no evident spotting or any previous ownership marks other than the author's inscription on the first free endpaper, which remains clear and distinct. We note a little browning to the pastedowns and minor shelf soiling to the bottom edge. Bibliographic reference: Cohen A240.1(I).a, Woods/ICS A123(aa), Langworth p.258