THAT CHURCHILL WOMAN has been high on my want to read list this year. A book about Winston Churchill's notorious mother? Count me in!

Jennie Jerome was a rich, privileged, and unconventional New Yorker who married Lord Randolph Churchill and becomes the mother of Winston Churchill, one of the most prominent men of the twentieth century. Jennie hardly knew Randolph before agreeing to marry him, however, she was hellbent on marrying him despite her mother's misgivings. The marriage had its ups and downs, and Jennie had countless lovers. But, one particular will dominate her life in this book: Count Charles Kinsky. Their love affair is pretty much doomed from the start, yet they can't stay away from each other, even when Bertie, Prince of Wales, warns Jennie about the risks himself...

THAT CHURCHILL WOMAN is a perfect book to read if you want to read about a woman that wouldn't let social rules define her life. Jennie Churchill is a fascinating woman and had a shrewd political mind that Winston Churchill must have inherited. Speaking of Winston, some chapters in the second part of the book is from Winston's point of view, which is a double-edged sword because he is so dominating; his life was so interesting even as a boy, that it takes the focus away from Jennie. While I did like reading about Jennie, I found the focus on her love life and especially her relationship with Coun Kinsky dominated the story a bit too much. I felt that she was such a compelling person and far too interesting to be defined by her relationship with one man. This made the ending somewhat depressing for me because I wanted to read about her later years. Instead, you get a summary of what happened to Jennie later in life.

That being said, despite my complaints about not getting the whole story, I enjoyed reading THAT CHURCHILL WOMAN. The writing is lovely and I quite liked getting to know Jennie Churchill. Also, a sequel about Winston wouldn't be so bad...