June 22, 2015

Finest Hour 118, Spring 2003

Page 41

“What a downy bird he is. He will always stoop to conquer.”~wsc

Marlborough: His Life and Times, by Winston S. Churchill. Two volumes, 2000 pages, University of Chicago Press, $170 hardbound, $50 softbound. Member prices $155 hardbound, $38 softbound.

At last Churchill’s greatest biography has been republished in softbound and hardbound format: the first unabridged appearance since the Folio Society edition twelve years ago, and far more affordable.

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The books are offprinted from the postwar two-volume Harrap edition (Woods A40d), which is completely unabridged. Though the type size is relatively small compared to the 1930s editions, Churchill made many corrections to the original work; thus we have here his final approved text. The new books are much more durable and readable than the postwar sets, which cost considerably more in fine jacketed condition. And for students and readers, the softbound version is a bargain— much nicer than the small English paperbacks we have had to get by with to date for reading copies.

The hardbound set lists for $170 and the softbound set for $50. Since we can’t imagine anyone wanting just one, the Churchill Book Club will offer them as two-volume sets, at lower than either of the major internet booksellers—with a generous $15 discount off retail for the hardbacks.

For those who asked, here are some responses to questions on typography. It was suggested that the type size is not “relatively small” since both the postwar two-volume edition and the prewar four-volume first edition are printed in 12-point type, but this is not correct. The postwar Marlborough was set in 12point Garamond Solid (according to Woods), which is, as the name implies, more compact than plain Garamond. Vertically, the printer’s measurement is “12/12″—the leading (space between lines) is the same size as the type. But it is also more compact horizontally. For example, Finest Hour feature articles are set in 11-point Garamond; yet they have the same horizontal character count as 12-point Garamond Solid.

The prewar four-volume Marlborough was set in what Woods describes as “12 point Plantin leaded 1 point” (12/13). But there’s a big size difference between 12-point Plantin and 12-point Garamond. For example, 12-point Plantin gets about 20 characters into 10 picas (1 5/8 inches) of type; but 12point Garamond Solid (and FHs 11point Garamond) fits about 27 characters into the same space.

Type size often shrinks slightly when offprints are made, and Chicago’s reprint process may incrementally reduce the type size from its 1947 appearance. Nevertheless, we are very pleased that this new unabridged edition has been published, and especially that an inexpensive softbound version is available for students. RML