I made some assumptions about Clementine Churchill.

I assumed she was 'posh'. She was, although, thanks to a flighty mother, most of her childhood was spent scrimping and saving in a variety of interesting locations.

I assumed she was domesticated. She was, in that she had impeccable taste in decor and was an excellent hostess, but she was far from happy in the confines of the home. She seized on the chance to do work of her own with hostels and shelters and charities, and excelled at it.

I assumed she had character. She did. Indeed, she had to, to cope with Winston, but it was a character that saw her win tennis competitions, take up skiing in her fifties (at a time when there were no lifts...) and travel around the world on such challenging trips as dragon-hunting...

I assumed she was beautiful and graceful. She was, but she did not shy away from dirty work, including sitting on the roofs of Whitehall watching for incendiary bombs with a water pump and sand bucket.

I assumed she was at Winston's side throughout the war. She was, mainly, but on VE day she was in Moscow - celebrating with the Russians, having spearheaded a vast fund to alleviate the suffering of the women and children subjected to terrible brutalities by the Germans.

I assumed she was a 'little wife. She was nothing of the sort. And the more I knew about her, the more I wanted to write her story. This novel is the result and I hope readers enjoy it.