Editing Winston Churchill (section)

===''Marlborough'' and the India Question: 1929–1932===
[[File:ChurchillChaplin0001.jpg|thumb|Churchill meeting with film star [[Charlie Chaplin]] in 1929]]
In the [[1929 United Kingdom general election|1929 general election]], Churchill retained his Epping seat, but the Conservatives were defeated, and MacDonald formed his second Labour government.{{sfnm|1a1=Rhodes James|1y=1970|1p=183|2a1=Gilbert|2y=1991|2p=489}} Out of office, Churchill was prone to depression (his "black dog") but addressed this by writing.{{sfn|Jenkins|2001|pp=466, 819}} He began work on ''[[Marlborough: His Life and Times]]'', a biography of his ancestor John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough.{{sfn|Gilbert|1991|p=491}}{{sfn|Jenkins|2001|pp=421–423}} He had developed a reputation for being a heavy drinker, although Jenkins believes that was often exaggerated.{{sfn|Jenkins|2001|p=51}}

Hoping that the Labour government could be ousted, he gained Baldwin's approval to work towards establishing a Conservative-Liberal coalition, although many Liberals were reluctant.{{sfn|Gilbert|1991|p=491}} In October 1930, after his return from a trip to North America, Churchill published his autobiography, ''[[My Early Life]]'', which sold well and was translated into multiple languages.{{sfn|Gilbert|1991|p=496}} In January 1931, Churchill resigned from the Conservative Shadow Cabinet because Baldwin supported the government's decision to grant [[Dominion]] Status to India.{{sfn|Jenkins|2001|p=434}} Churchill believed that enhanced home rule status would hasten calls for full independence.{{sfn|Gilbert|1991|p=495}} He was particularly opposed to [[Mohandas Gandhi]], whom he considered "a seditious [[Middle Temple]] lawyer, now posing as a [[fakir]]".{{sfn|Gilbert|1991|pp=499–500}} His views enraged Labour and Liberal opinion, though he was supported by many grassroot Conservatives.{{sfn|Gilbert|1991|p=500}}

The [[1931 United Kingdom general election|October 1931 general election]] was a landslide victory for the Conservatives.{{sfn|Jenkins|2001|p=443}} Churchill nearly doubled his majority in Epping, but was not given a ministerial position.{{sfn|Gilbert|1991|pp=502–503}} The Commons debated Dominion Status for India on 3 December and Churchill insisted on dividing the House, but this backfired as only 43 MPs supported him.{{sfn|Gilbert|1991|p=503}} He embarked on a lecture tour of North America, hoping to recoup financial losses sustained in the [[Wall Street crash]].{{sfn|Jenkins|2001|p=443}}{{sfn|Gilbert|1991|p=503}} On 13 December, he was crossing [[Fifth Avenue]] in New York when he was knocked down by a car, suffering a head wound from which he developed [[neuritis]].{{sfn|Jenkins|2001|pp=443–444}} To further his convalescence, he and Clementine took ship to [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]] for three weeks, but Churchill became depressed about his financial and political losses.{{sfn|Jenkins|2001|p=444}} He returned to America in late January 1932 and completed most of his lectures before arriving home on 18 March.{{sfn|Jenkins|2001|p=444}}

Having worked on ''Marlborough'' for much of 1932, Churchill in August decided to visit his ancestor's battlefields.{{sfn|Jenkins|2001|p=445}} In [[Munich]], he met [[Ernst Hanfstaengl]], a friend of [[Hitler]], who was then rising in prominence. Hanfstaengl tried to arrange a meeting between Churchill and Hitler, but Hitler was unenthusiastic: "What on earth would I talk to him about?"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://winstonchurchill.hillsdale.edu/meeting-hitler-1932/ |title=Meeting Hitler, 1932 |work=The Churchill Project |publisher=Hillsdale College |location=Hillsdale, Missouri |date=5 March 2015 |access-date=22 May 2021 |archive-date=21 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421115056/https://winstonchurchill.hillsdale.edu/meeting-hitler-1932/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Soon after visiting [[Blindheim|Blenheim]], Churchill was affected by [[paratyphoid fever]] and spent two weeks at a sanatorium in [[Salzburg]].{{sfn|Jenkins|2001|pp=445–446}} He returned to Chartwell on 25 September, still working on ''Marlborough''. Two days later, he collapsed after a recurrence of paratyphoid which caused an ulcer to haemorrhage. He was taken to a London nursing home and remained there until late October.{{sfn|Gilbert|1991|pp=508–509}}