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Marlborough: His Life and Times, Book One

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The name John Churchill, the First Duke of Marlborough (correctly pronounced, somewhat like "MO-bara"), may not ring a bell among many of my American friends - except for those interested in history. It is true that he never achieved the worldwide fame enjoyed by his descendant and worshipper, Sir Winston Churchill, who is the author of this book and his unofficially official biographer. Neverthless Marlborough it was who gave the British lion its first roar - while Sir Winston gave it its very last.

It's not difficult to see why Sir Winston admired John. In his own day Marlborough was the greatest Englishman, the best general, and the finest diplomat of Europe. His spectacular victory at Blenheim was one of the world's most significant. He fought many battles; invincible, he won them all (about ten major ones including the sieges). For this he was granted a magnificent home (out of a royal estate) named the Blenheim Palace (for its size to call it anything else would be a misnomer) - in which Sir Winston himself was later born. Like his younger contemporary Frederick the Great (one of my heroes), Marlborough was truly impressive in all aspects of warmaking: strategy, tactics, field command, logistics, diplomacy, personnel, intelligence. Like Frederick he was personally and physically brave (if a little LESS reckless). And like Frederick he had to run a country at the same time. In one way though Marlborough was even greater than Frederick - he never lost a battle.

It is true that without Prince Eugene, Marlborough would not have succeeded the way he did. (And historically Eugene is ranked even higher than Marlborough among the great captains in history). But Marlborough was also superb. To quote G. M. Trevelyan: "Marlborough as a military strategist and tactician, as a war statesman and war diplomatist, stands second to no Englishman in history." Except in naval warfare, Marlborough is the finest professional soldier in British history.

Striking was Marlborough's dependence on several women in his life, to whom he owed his entire career: his own sister, who got him his first job (as a lowly page to the Prince of Wales); the Duchess of Cleveland, who lavished money on him for his exceptional "services"; Sarah Jennings, his wife, who rose from equally humble background to be politically important; and Queen Anne, who made him Duke and head of the English army. A genius in war, he was also lucky in love. Stunningly handsome, he matched his looks with flawless manners plus sparkling intelligence; not surprisingly his charm was irresistible to women (and, as has been pointed out, men too). Yet he had a happy marriage. (His wife, a tremendous beauty in her own right, lived in constant if unfounded fear of his infidelity. Though the youthful Marlborough probably had an illegit daughter with Cleveland, he was no Casanova in married life.)

That Marlborough was a genius and his life a phenomenal success story, no one can deny. But in the interests of family loyalty as well as personal devotion Sir Winston was willing to turn a blind eye to some of Marlborough's faults: his insatiable financial greed, his manipulativeness, his tightfistedness with money, his suspect honesty, his all-consuming ambitions, his inability to write in literate English. But as I am a fan of Marlborough's myself, I do not blame Sir Winston. I only wish to add that his one-sided account, though the best, does not provide a complete picture. For his unreliable political loyalty the young Earl of Marlborough was once sent to the Tower for about two months, during which time his life hanged in the balance. (This experience turned out to be fortunate, as many of his fellow generals were killed at this same time fighting in continental Europe.)

It's puzzling to me how with increasing age, fame and fortune Marlborough's thick skin, which had served him well in his youth, got thinner and thinner, until he was almost destroyed by his sensitivity to criticisms. Too bad, because his political enemies were so unworthy compared to him. He gave himself a stroke and that was the end of his career.

No admirer of Sir Winston's, I nonetheless recommend this book very highly. It is extremely well-written. Be sure to get both volumes. And pay particular attention to the military campaigns - these are true masterpieces of historical writing. If you must choose, however, get vol.1 - it has the best actions, including the high points of his career: marriage to Sarah, the meteoric rise, the Garter, Blenheim, the Dukedom. The chapter entitled "Avarice and Charm" - two aspects of his personality - is particularly interesting.

Not for nothing did Winston Churchill win the Nobel Prize for Literature, and by common consent "Marlborough" was his best work.

Winston Spencer Churchill's biography of his ancestor, John Churchill First Duke of Marlborough, stands out as a restoration of Marlborough's reputation, an account of England under the reigns of Charles II, James II, William III and Queen Anne, and an in-depth military and political history of the War of Spanish Succession.

WSC gives us a picture of the whole man, including his faults. One of WSC's purposes is to rescue Marlborough's reputation from the attacks of generations of historians. The book becomes a brilliant defense and of course it cannot be unbiased. WSC is Marlborough's defense attorney, not his judge.

By the 1920s, Marlborough had been called miserly, greedy, ambitious, duplicitous, disloyal and treacherous. As he recounts Marlborough's life, WSC continually picks up an episode that seemingly illustrates one of these traits, but turns it around.

Where unsympathetic historians saw miserly habits, WSC saw thrift and WSC goes further. Marlborough was miserly when it came to his own needs, such as when he insisted surgeons cut his stocking along the seem so that it could be resown. Yet he paid his army's bills and wages on time; apparently this was unusual in those days. He paid, from his own discretionary funds, which other generals often pocketed as a matter of course, for military intelligence that proved crucial to securing many of his victories.

Where accusers saw ambition needlessly prolonging a difficult war, WSC presents Marlborough has being bound by duty to achieve the best results possible, and to reject a timid peace, which would have left Europe in the hands of a despot.

WSC has a more difficult, but no less successful time defending Marlborough's continued correspondence with St-Germain, the exiled English court of James II and later his son, as recognized by Louis the XIV. The problem here is that today such acts would indeed be treason, but in the seventeenth century they were part of the normal workings of diplomacy, war time or not. After all, if passports and safe conduits were routinely given to enemies to allow them to rest and confer in between campaigns, it could not have been that unusual to keep in touch with people one knew, even if they were officially enemies.

WSC also presents Marlborough's most important relationships: with his wife Sarah Jennings; with his military ally Prince Eugene, with whom he won at Blenheim; with his political colleague Godolphin, who secured funds for his military work; with the kings and queen of England from James II to George I;

But WSC does accuse Marlborough on occasion of having been unwise. He is particularly critical of the Duke's obsession with his palace at Blenheim (where WSC himself was born). Marlborough didnft want an opulent residence, rather he wanted to leave a monument that would survive centuries and remember his name to future generations. WSC writes that as such Blenheim was a failure: it added nothing to the Duke's reputation and the worries it caused may have taken years from his life. Winston Churchill must have felt his biography was a better memorial to his ancestor.

Winston Churchill, in a relatively well-known bad patch during the 1930s, began to write this history of his famous and much maligned ancestor. The first volume contains the first two books of the original four book set. The life of John Churchill, Duke of Malborough, is both a fascinating look at an historical era as well as a personal portrait of a great military general. Book One consists of a large chunk of history, spanning the downfall of Charles I through Cromwell, to the Restoration of Charles II, through the overthrowing of his brother, the Catholic James II by William of Orange married to James II's daughter, Mary, to the crowning of Queen Anne. The second Book of Volume one concentrates on a mere 3 years of Anne's rule.

I will not reiterate what other reviewers have already said. However, I would add that in the writing of this book, Winston Churchill prepared himself to become even greater than his general ancestor. It can hardly be surprising that as this history was being written, events were conspiring to lead Winston Churchill into the biggest world confrontation ever. After studying the campaigns in Europe of Lord Malborough, it can hardly be surprising that Churchill fully suspected the coming of the war long before his fellow MPs.

This is a scholarly work and shouldn't be undertaken without serious patience. Each of the two volumes are in themselves close to 1,000 pages long. The history is written from the point of view of a defender, though Winston Churchill is careful not to gloss over details that might cast an unfavorable opinion of his ancestor. Well worth the effort.

BOOK TWO -

Since I reviewed Book One, I felt it was important to follow up with a review of Book Two of this work. My initial comment is that sticking with something this huge is a task in itself, but often the reward is hard to describe. For me, I feel each time I finish a huge work like this (or Hegel, or Kant, or ... well, anything "Big") I sense my own mind has been exercised a bit. It's a reward in and of itself.

Firstly, like Book One, this is really Volume Three and Volume Four of the a Four Book series bound together in Two mammoth volumes. Reading these 2000 plus pages is like running a marathon: the beginning is difficult, then you break the pain barrier and coast for quite a long while until the last staggering climb to the finish. In Book Three we continue with the war of Spanish Succession. These 500 pages are essentially concerned with the gigantic battles Marlborough fought. It was a time in which his glory was highly esteemed. As we get into Book Four, much like Book One, the narrative returns to the over all political scene which dominated and brought down the Great Duke. It is also the point where the reader might become overwhelmed again by both the multifaceted political machinations as well as the constantly revolving names (John Churchill becomes the Duke of Marlborough, etc.)

However, for all these difficulties, the overall sense from both volumes is as thorough and detailed and enthralling as history can be written. There can be no doubt that Winston Churchill, as he surveyed the ever-mounting rearmament of the Germanic states and looking over the ancient maps of Europe imagining both the current and past, felt an immense burden of responsibility. By undertaking the task of "reforming" The Duke of Marlborough's image, he delved deep in to the vaults of history and warfare. It was not surprising that at the same moment he should be the first to recognize (at least in Britain) the significance of Hitler's intensions.

One other thing struck me as fascinating about this era. The whole course of European politics, war, peace, and financial stability were tied up in the lives of three bickering women: Sarah (Marlborough's wife), Abigail (cousin to Sarah), and Queen Anne (whom both served and guided with gossip and whisperings.) Out of this small time period bore the seeds of Napoleon, the American discontent with England, and Slavery. Big stuff.

I recommend these Four volumes (two books). The paperbacks are perhaps overstuffed, though. Book One split right down the middle. I was more careful with Book Two, though my hands suffered from it. Perhaps spending the money for the hardback editions in this case is worth it?

Winston Churchill was a man who rarely met a topic upon which he didn't harbor a strong opinion that he was willing to share. The Duke of Marlborough is no different. Churchill is clearly enamoured with this relative of his and lets it show. That said, Churchill plainly states that there are two camps on Marlborough and tells the world which camp he falls into. By doing so, he opens up the reader to get a feel not just for Marlborough and his times, but also for the debate by historians that rages around a polarizing historic figure like Marlborough. (Sound familiar to anyone else?) The result is a richly layered work.

Winston Churchill viewed history as something that was alive and tangible and his historic writings capture that feeling for readers. Marlborough's battles - both military and political - come to life in the hands of Churchill. We get to see one of the great military minds of the 18th century push military science closer and closer to its modern form. We also see him perform less well on the political front against his foes there.

Through the entire book, we get to listen to Winston Churchill in his element, telling us a story about a topic he feels passionately about. So many of the trials, trevails, and reactions that Churchill ascribes to Marlborough are so obviously parallels to Churchill's life and his reactions that the book has a clear autobiographical tone to it as well.

Highly recommended for history buffs and for people who want to understand Churchill more deeply.

Marlborough was a courtier all his life, with all the risks that came with such a position - in the end he paid for royal disfavor. Not even falling on his knees - he could have knocked two holes on the marble floor - made much difference to a Queen bent on revenge.....over his wife's arrogance. Sir Winston calls this episode "painful to record" and an "unnatural spectacle" which "reduces the stature of a soldier [literally!]." (Book Two, p. 796-7) I agree: Marlborough lacked that unique quality in his character which comes with real power, which in a sense he never had. This is one point of major divergence between the two Churchills. Winston had backbone - he was the supreme leader of his country, acted like one, and treated his king with respect but no fear. Marlborough feared his Queen AND his wife. But Marlborough lived in different times, when the monarch still had some residual power, and much of his own influence with Anne depended on his wife's relations with her. It is interesting to recall how some men of war were also men of power. Genghis Khan feared no one (with the possible exception of his own mother). Toyotomi Hideyoshi rose from even humbler roots than Marlborough's to de facto shogun of Japan. He was carefully respectful of the emperor, but everybody knew who was the real boss. By the 19th century, Wellington enjoyed a similar privilege in England.

Note: what amazon.com presents as "Volume I" is actually "Book One" - this biography is divided into two "books," each of which is subdivided into two "volumes," One and Two, and Three and Four. For me Book One is the more interesting "volume." Also, the birth year for Marlborough given in the product description is wrong. He was born in 1650, not 1644.

I ordinarily don't like to read history. But I took a chance on this after reading a biography of Churchill. In writing this book, Churchill personally traveled across Europe, visiting each of the sites that figure prominently in his ancestor's life. And what a life! Coming of age in an era defined by enmity between Catholics and Protestants that mirrors the current strife in the Middle East, Marlborough was a political and military genius who saved not only his own country, but the rest of Europe through his daring and imaginative actions both on and off the battlefield. No one but Churchill could have written this book. His passion for the times is evident in the prose, which is simply magnificent. I loved this book.

Winston Churchill takes pen and original manuscripts from Blenhiem Palace and writes the history of his ancestor, John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough. This task was completed with the intent to bring Marlborough out of the shadows and place him as one of England's foremost Generals. More importantly though, to remove the blacken insulting writing and opinions of Lord Macaulay's 1849 historical book "History of England". Before Winston Churchill's book, Macaulay in his book had labeled Marlbourgh as a corrupt intriguer, a money chaser who owed his elevation in the Royal Court to his wife. Winston's magnificent work succeeds in rescuing Marlborough and vindicates his name from Macaulay's brush off. It is an excellent work but one that will take some time to work through. At nearly a 1000 pages this is not a quick read but nonetheless one that is very interesting. Winston Churchill's writing strength shines through when he writes about political and battlefield tactics. The Battle of Blenhiem would elevate Marlborough and give him the immortal battle that would increase his fortunes and change the political axis of the world. Fortune rose and fell on that August day. France's Monarchy lost power and would decide to have done with war. Long years of bloodshed still were to remain but European politics and religion would shift around like pieces on a chessboard. Winston is reasonably balanced in his writing and doesn't always paint Marlborough in a favorable light. Marlborough would owe much of his battle success to Prince Eugene and Churchill does show that Eugene was one of those foremost Generals as well. Sarah Churchill, Marlborough's strong willed wife, would have a great influence on him and keep his candle burning brightly in Queen Anne's court..(at least for now). Winston Churchill's wit and sarcasm are found all through this book. He doesn't hold back on the vacillating Dutch or on the Margrave Louis of Baden's wounded toe. This is a great read for anyone interested in European history and the declining fortunes of the House of Stuart. Well worth the addition to the history shelf.

Having now finished all 2000 pages of Churchill's Marlborough, His Life and Times (books one and two), I would like to encourage those with a love of history - especially military and political history - to make the attempt. Churchill's prose is wonderful, and the story of Marlborough's diplomatic and military leadership in the War of the Spanish Succession is fascinating and compelling. I note that one reviewer preferred book one over book two, as Marlborough's greatest military victories are told in the former. I found book two to be equally fascinating, as Churchill describes the vicious English internecine political strife that destroyed the anti-French alliance, nearly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. If you think 21st century American politics are divisive and ugly, read book two and you will feel better.

oversight.

''one and only victory''?
What about the penninsular war, Between 1808-14 Wellingtons army fought up the spanish penninsular all the way to France constantly beating such noted Marshalls as Massena and Soult, battles include: Talavera, Vimeiro, Salamanca, Victoria and the sieges: Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz to name a few.
He didn't even consider Waterloo to be his greatest victory.
Wellington is the only general to have successfully came up with a tactic to beat the revolutionary armees (using line formations versus French coloums and obscuring his armys behind obstacles)therefore desrves praise.

Wellington only once called his men ''scum of the earth'' this was in relation to the english recruiting methods (picking up drunks, prisoners) so it is true, his armys where riff raff though by 1814 he called them ''the finest fighting force in the world''.

Churchills books are incredible,sorry for the off topic review.
Marlborough was a brilliant Commander. It was Wellington who said ''i can think of nothing finer then Marlborough at the head of a English army''