Fans of Sir Winston Churchill will be able to pick an expert's brain and rub shoulders with the statesman's legacy in a more engaging way than ever before.
The National Churchill Museum's annual Crosby Kemper Lectureship will return in a more conversational format, 2 p.m. Sunday, March 2, at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury. The free lecture series will feature Churchill biographer Paul Reid, who spent several years researching the famed statesman for his final installment in the acclaimed biography series started by author William Manchester.
Guests to the lecture series can also hear from Churchill's descendents this year. His great-grandchildren, Randolph Churchill and Jennie Churchill Repard, will attend the series as part of their first visit to the site where their ancestor gave his famous Iron Curtain speech. Randolph Churchill will give remarks at a brunch prior to the lecture itself.
Churchill Memorial Executive Director Rob Havers said that event organizers chose a departure from the traditional lecture format to give patrons a chance to ask questions of Reid and himself to "make it a little more engaging for those participating."
"It's less that Paul is going to declaim to the audience, what will happen is more we'll do a discussion, he and I, conversation-style," Havers said. "He'll talk through the process he underwent to create his book, the challenges, the pitfalls and how he ended up with what is a very impressive piece of writing."