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Marlborough

His Life and Times, Book Two

"It is my hope to recall this great shade from the past, and not only invest him with his panoply, but make him living and intimate to modern eyes."—from the preface to Volume One

John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough (1644-1722), was one of the greatest military commanders and statesmen in the history of England. Victorious in the Battles of Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), and countless other campaigns, Marlborough, whose political intrigues were almost as legendary as his military skill, never fought a battle he didn’t win. Although he helped James II crush the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth, Marlborough later supported William of Orange against James II in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and brilliantly managed England’s diplomatic triumphs during the War of the Spanish Succession. Marlborough also bequeathed the world another great British military strategist and diplomat—his descendant, Winston S. Churchill, who wrote this book to redeem Marlborough’s reputation from Macaulay’s smears.

One million words long and ten years in the making, Churchill’s Marlborough stands as both a literary and historical masterpiece, giving us unique insights into the Churchill of World War II, for just as Churchill’s literary skill helps us understand the complexities of Marlborough’s life, so too did his writing of Marlborough help Churchill master the arts of military strategy and diplomacy. This two-volume edition includes the entire text and almost all the original maps.

1,080 pages | 1 halftone, 1 line drawing, 103 maps | 6 x 9 | © 2002

Biography and Letters

History: British and Irish History, European History, History of Ideas, Military History

Political Science: Comparative Politics

Table of Contents

Volume Three
Preface
I. The Whig Approach
II. Prince of Mindelheim
III. The War in Spain
IV. The Tottering Alliance
V. Fortune’s Gift
VI. The Battle of Ramillies
VII. The Conquest of Belgium
VIII. The Reverse of the Medal
IX. Madrid and Turin
X. The Year of Victory
XI. Sunderland’s Appointment
XII. Marlborough and Charles XII
XIII. Almanza and Stollhofen
XIV. Toulon
XV. Marlborough in Trammels
XVI. Abigail
XVII. The Fall of Harley
XVIII. The Jacobite Raid
XIX. Eugene Comes North
XX. The Surprise of Ghent and Bruges
XXI. The Battle of Oudenarde
XXII. The Morrow of Success
XXIII. The Thwarted Invasion
XXIV. The Home Front
XXV. The Siege of Lille
XXVI. Wynendael
XXVII. The Winter Struggle
XXVIII. Culmination
Volume Four
Preface
I. 00
II. The Whigs and Peace
III. The Great Frost
IV. The Fatal Article
V. The Lost Peace
VI. Darker War
VII. Tournai
VIII. The Investment of Mons
IX. The Battle of Malplaquet
X. The Ebb-tide
XI. The Queen’s Revenge
XII. Mortifications
XIII. Sacheverell and Shrewsbury
XIV. The Ninth Campaign
XV. Sunderland’s Dismissal
XVI. The Alarm of the Allies
XVII. The Fall of Godolphin
XVIII. Marlborough and Hanover
XIX. Dissolution
XX. The New Régime
XXI. The Gold Key
XXII. The Death of the Emperor
XXIII. Harley and St. John
XXIV. General Only
XXV. Ne Plus Ultra
XXVI. Bouchain
XXVII. The Secret Negotiations
XXVIII. Hanover Intervenes
XXIX. The Political Climax
XXX. The Visit of Prince Eugene
XXXI. The Peculation Charge
XXXII. The Restraining Orders
XXXIII. The British Desertion
XXXIV. Marlborough Leaves England
XXXV. Exile
XXXVI. Utrecht and the Succession
XXXVII. The Death of the Queen
XXXVIII. Marlborough in the New Reign
XXXIX. At Blenheim Palace
Bibliography
Index

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