Kingmaker by Sonia Purnell

Tracing the life of a English Baron’s daughter, who, on her way to becoming US ambassador to France, was Winston Churchill’s beloved daughter-in-law. I knew nothing about Pamela Harrison whatsoever when I started reading this, and I think I’d have both enjoyed and benefitted more from this biography had I been aware of her beforehand. She lived an interesting life, but I lacked context for some of the assertions about Pamela. Being considered one of history’s greatest courtesans is compelling, but the actual text didn’t explain and explore why she was called that to a degree that I found explicatory. I enjoyed the first half of the book most. Pamela’s childhood and young adulthood was really interesting, whereas the remainder of the book felt a bit overstuffed and just didn’t capture my attention. Probably not a book to read without the proper attention to devote to it. However, Purnell’s writing about the Churchillian aspect of Pamela’s life has definitely put her biography of…