"Nellie | with love | from | Winston S. C." - The World Crisis: 1916-1918 - the third volume of Winston S. Churchill's history of the First World War, warmly inscribed by Churchill to his sister-in-law, Nellie Hozier Romilly, who was captured and imprisoned by the Germans during the First World War and who, during the Second World War, would lose her youngest son in action and see her older son spend most of the war as a POW before his daring escape.
London: Thornton Butterworth Limited, 1927. First edition, third printing. Hardcover. This British first edition, third printing, of the third volume of Winston Churchill's monumental history of The First World War is warmly inscribed to his sister-in-law, Nellie Hozier Romilly. Churchill wrote in black ink in four lines on the second free endpaper: “Nellie | with love | from | Winston S. C.”
This third printing occurred in the same month as the first – March 1927 – and is virtually identical, apart from notation of the 2nd and 3rd printings on the title page verso. Condition is very good. The blue cloth binding is clean and tight, the spine gilt bright, the navy hue unfaded on both covers and spine. The covers and spine show only trivial overall blemishes and superficial scuffing, the spine ends wrinkled, the lower corners bruised. The contents remain bright, with age-toning manifest only to the text block edges. Spotting, endemic to the edition, is substantially confined to the prelims and text block edges, with only light, occasional intrusions elsewhere in the text.
Margaret “Nellie” Nelly Ogilvy Romilly (née Hozier, 1888-1955) was the only surviving sister of Clementine Ogilvy Spencer-Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill (née Hozier, 1885-1977), their older sister Kitty having died in 1900. Nellie’s life became inextricably linked to that of future Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill (1874-1965). On 11 August 1908, Churchill proposed to Clementine, whom he married on 12 September 1908 with Nellie as a bridesmaid. As a young woman, Nellie seemed to lead the carefree life that her social position afforded and enjoyed travel, dancing, and, particularly, gambling. She spoke “French like a Parisienne and made great friends of the common people.” (Souhami, Edith Cavell, 206)
Nellie was captured and imprisoned by the Germans during the First World War. In 1914, Nellie abruptly joined a convoy of nurses in Belgium as interpreter, but her party was swiftly taken prisoner when the Germans occupied Belgium. Her party was repatriated a few months later after the nurses went on strike and refused to extend care to the Germans. The U.S. Ambassador to Belgium recalled of their release, “Miss Manners and Miss Hozier, with all the nurses, arived [sic] at tea time, all glowing with the joy of the very dangerous experience...” (Whitlock, Belgium a Personal Narrative, 382-383). A year later, on 4 December 1915, Nellie married Colonel Bertram Henry Samuel Romilly.
After the First World War, Nellie was no more done with war than was her brother-in-law, Winston. During the Second World War, 14 years after this volume was published, Nellie’s youngest son, Winston’s nephew Esmond (1918-1941), was killed in action 30 November 1941 – Winston’s birthday. A Royal Canadian Air Force Pilot Officer, Esmond was shot down over the North Sea after a bombing raid over Germany. Nellie’s older son, Giles (1916-1967), was a civilian journalist for the Daily Express when he was captured in Norway in May 1940 - the same month that his uncle became wartime Prime Minister. Giles became the first of Hitler’s “Prominente” – prisoners deemed important for their association with Allied figures. Giles was held with other Prominente in Colditz Castle. Giles dramatically escaped in April 1945 after transfer to Tittmoning Castle.
A quarter of a century before the Second World War endowed him with lasting fame, Winston Churchill played a uniquely critical, controversial, and varied role in the “War to end all wars”. Then, being Churchill, he wrote about it. The World Crisis was originally published in six volumes between 1923 and 1931, with the first four volumes spanning the war years 1911-1918 and the final two volumes covering the postwar years 1918-1928 (The Aftermath) and the Eastern theatre (The Eastern Front). The events of the 1916-1918 volumes, of which this is the first, include Churchill's time at the Front, his return to the Cabinet, and Armistice Day, marking the formal end of hostilities.
Reference: Cohen A69.2(III-1).c. Item #008307
Price: $7,500.00