Troublesome Young Men

By Lynne Olson

On May 7, 1940, one of the most consequential no-confidence motions in British political history (and world history) gave the sitting prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, a temporary win—only for him to resign a few days later.

This book builds up to that critical week and introduces the characters who orchestrated the impressive ousting of Chamberlain, paving the way for Winston Churchill to become prime minister.

In America, there are countless biographies for every president. Superstars like Washington and Lincoln have hundreds, if not thousands, of biographies. Even lesser-known presidents like Buchanan or Taft have multiple biographies. But British prime ministers, apart from Churchill and Thatcher, rarely receive the same attention. I may have found an answer to this discrepancy in the lead-up to the confidence vote.

Members of the House of Commons don't have personal offices to retreat to when sessions end. Instead, they mingle in the lounges and bars around Westminster, creating a different dynamic. The lounge essentially becomes a fraternity house for Eton and Winchester alumni from Oxbridge. Their social lives are thoroughly upper-class and deeply interconnected, so British prime ministers rarely stand out the way U.S. presidents do.

The group trying to oust Chamberlain shared similar backgrounds. The main rebels included Leo Amery, Harold Macmillan (a future prime minister), Clement Attlee (another future prime minister), and Roland Cartland.

Neville Chamberlain, the Tory leader, was utterly convinced that his peace deal with Hitler would work. Even with overwhelming evidence of German aggression, he refused to change his mind. He clung to his peace plan at enormous cost to Britain.

Winston Churchill had been sounding the alarm for two years leading up to 1939 and the start of World War II. But he had been politically ostracized for most of the decade, largely due to his extreme views on India. In the mid-1930s, when another Tory government passed the Government of India Act of 1935, Churchill, himself a conservative, opposed it vehemently and used vile language to do so.

While the rebel group wanted to remove Chamberlain, they struggled to find a viable alternative. Anthony Eden, with his movie-star looks (and a future prime minister), chose to stay away from the fray, so Chamberlain continued to preside over a government mired in mediocrity and incompetence, stubbornly trying to fulfill his impossible peace prophecy.

As Hitler occupied the Sudetenland, and the UK allowed him to take Czechoslovakia, Chamberlain stayed on the sidelines. When war was finally declared over Poland, Britain reluctantly entered the conflict, unprepared and half-hearted.

The lack of action became stifling. Chamberlain's government devised secretive, poorly considered evacuation plans, moving Whitehall offices into the countryside and implementing a massive effort to evacuate London's children and pets without fully thinking it through from a family's perspective. London became bleaker without its children and pets, while the government seemed to retreat.

Under mounting pressure, Chamberlain made one key change: he brought Winston Churchill into his cabinet, making him First Lord of the Admiralty—the head of naval forces. Churchill immediately began transforming the department, shaking off its lethargy. It became the only government department seriously confronting the German threat.

In the spring of 1940, Germany attacked Norway, exposing the UK's lack of preparedness. The Tory rebels teamed up with Attlee's Labour Party to initiate a vote of confidence against Chamberlain. But who would lead if Chamberlain fell? Anthony Eden remained on the sidelines, and Churchill was seen as too brash and arrogant. They considered Lord Halifax (formerly Lord Irwin, viceroy during Gandhi's salt satyagraha), but he didn't inspire much interest either.

The rebels, with their disparate interests, tried to unite. Some, like Harold Macmillan, faced personal conflicts—his wife had a long-standing affair with another rebel, Bob Boothby. Yet they endeavored to put the country first.

Leo Amery, a chief figure among the rebels and a long-time rival of Churchill, realized that the country had no choice but to turn to Churchill. Amery viewed Churchill's arrogance, ego, and hunger for victory as essential virtues in this time of crisis. Amery delivered a rousing speech in the Commons, ending with a quote from Cromwell: "You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!"

Chamberlain won the vote, but Amery's Cromwell quote had sealed his fate. The press and public viewed the narrow victory as a significant defeat. Within days, Chamberlain had no choice but to step down.

Winston Churchill, long a political outcast, was thrust into action. One of his first decisions was to halt the evacuation of Whitehall from London. He established a war cabinet with leaders from all parties, including Chamberlain.

Anthony Eden eventually became prime minister, but lacking experience in Commons "dogfights," his tenure was brief. Harold Macmillan, whose grandfather founded Macmillan Publishing, went on to become a successful prime minister.

Leo Amery was appointed Secretary of State for India by Churchill. Though Amery and Churchill had differing views on India, Amery supported increasing independence within the British Empire, while Churchill opposed it.

Amery, who had risked his career for the sake of the UK, faced a new challenge in India. Despite supporting dominion status and independence within the Empire, he encountered Gandhi's steadfast refusal to cooperate with Britain during its fight for survival in World War II. Rajaji and Jawaharlal Nehru argued otherwise with Gandhi, but to no avail. By 1943, Amery managed to recruit a large number of Indian soldiers to fight alongside the Allies in the war effort—one of whom was my grandfather.

I loved the book. It's a fast-paced narrative of palace intrigue with fascinating characters and differing leadership styles.