SONIA PURNELL is a bestselling, prize-winning author celebrated for her lively writing style and meticulous research, with a growing readership around the world.
When Pamela Churchill Harriman died in 1997, she was often dismissed as a courtesan and social climber, known mainly for her glamorous life and many romantic adventures. In her comprehensive biography, Sonia Purnell sets the record straight.
The Story of Pamela Churchill Harriman tells the biography of a woman whose life was defined by power, seduction, and intrigue. The book shares the captivating story of a woman who stood at the center of power for over five decades and across two continents: how, at the age of 20, as Winston Churchill’s beloved daughter-in-law, she became a “secret weapon” during World War II, and how, later, as a U.S. citizen, she helped propel Bill Clinton to the presidency.
Her second book, First Lady in the UK and Clementine in the US, (a finalist for the Plutarch prize) revealed for the first time the vital role played in Winston Churchill’s career by his wife Clementine. The book has subsequently shaped Clementine’s portrayal on screen, including in the Netflix series The Crown when she was played by Harriet Walter who has described Sonia’s writing as a “whirlwind of fresh air” that opens “a door…into a flood of sunlight”. Sonia’s third work, A Woman of No Importance, is the inspirational true-life tale of a female spy in WWII, Virginia Hall, a young American socialite with a wooden leg, who helped fan the flames of French Resistance. It became an instant New York Times Bestseller when published in 2019, remained on the list for many weeks, and won the prestigious Plutarch Prize for Best Biography in 2020.
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