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Professor Michael Shelden of Indiana State University is the author of five biographies, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist “Orwell: The Authorized Biography.” He was a features writer for the London Daily Telegraph for 15 years and a fiction critic for the Baltimore Sun for 10 years. His most recent book – “Young Titan: The Making of Winston Churchill” – was published in 2013. The film rights were bought by Carnival Films, the producers of Downton Abbey. Shelden is the 2014 National Author winner of the Eugene & Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award.

Michael

Shelden

Truly original biographies of prominent figures, especially figures who have written extensive and famous memoirs and their own histories, necessarily tend toward being both narrow and deep. Shelden focuses on just 15 years of Winston Churchill’s life, from 1900-1915, as a study in passion, extreme success and failure, and lasting character development. The list of events in this period of Churchill’s young life, from the building of a modern navy to his facing artillery fire on the Western Front, only pale in comparison to the sense he had of himself as a romantic destined for greatness not only in war but also in love.

Young

Titan

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The Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award was established when The Indianapolis Public Library Foundation received a generous grant from The Glick Fund, a fund of Central Indiana Community Foundation. This program seeks to recognize the contributions of Indiana authors to the literary landscape in Indiana and across the nation. The Award is divided into three categories: Emerging, for new writers of one or two books that show great promise; Regional, for writers well known and respected especially in Indiana and the Midwest; and National, for writers of widespread acclaim and reputation. Each winning author receives a cash prize and a $2,500 grant for the Indiana public library of his or her choice.

4. During this 15-year hastening toward World War I, what (or who) do you see as Churchill’s major obstacles or adversaries?

5. The book divides neatly into three five-year periods, each of which ends by focusing on Churchill’s personality rather than on a “big event.” What would you say characterizes each period, and what does Shelden’s choice seem to indicate about this part of Churchill’s life?

6. Especially if you’ve read about Churchill before, discuss some things you learned about him from Shelden. How significant did you find those revelations to be, and how did they affect the way you read the rest of the book?

7. How would you describe the role of the many and prominently featured women in Churchill’s life as Shelden presents them?

8. How does what we know of Churchill’s enduring reputation affect the way we see his apparent fall from power in May of 1915 after the battle of Gallipoli?

9. Discuss the significance of the book’s last line.

Discussion

Questions

1. Discuss the symbolic and literal relevance of the “Prelude,” which covers a moment 25 years later than the period covered by the rest of the book.

2. “The stars,” or cosmic destiny, is a motif in the biography. How do you see the relationship between what Churchill was born into and the choices he made?

3. Titled “Young Titan,” this book could be seen as a rapid coming of political and personal age. How much do you see this as a book about Churchill’s youth?

Useful Links

Author’s Website:

www.michaelshelden.com
History in Five: Five Things You Should Know About Winston Churchill, by Michael Shelden:

http://books.simonandschuster.com/Young-Titan/Michael-Shelden/9781451609929

Eugene & Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award:

www.indianaauthorsaward.org

The Indiana Authors Award