Chapter Two, Family and Youth Summary and Analysis

Winston Churchill is in the line of the Duke of Marlborough that is, for generations, held by dishonorable and treacherous men. The wealth of the Dukedom is squandered on many occasions until his grandfather restores its good name. Winston's father, Lord Randolph Churchill, continues the reputation for some years, until his mind is destroyed by an ever-progressing syphilis infection. Churchill's mother, Jennie Jerome, is a rich American heiress who spends her marriage ignoring her sons (Winston and John), cheating on her husband and enjoying her wealth. As a result, Churchill's nanny, his "Morning Star" Mrs. Everest, takes on a motherly role.

Churchill's father could have been a great politician, or so thinks his son who writes his biography, but bad political alliances exile him from high political office early in his professional life...