Marlborough: England's Fragile Genius (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

'Richard Holmes goes far beyond the life of John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, to depict the moral and political landscape of an entire age in this rewarding biography of the British general!Holmes is as thrilling on his subject's romantic devotion to his wife!as he is on the battles.' Sunday Times 'We should...welcome a new biography of the man who was so admired by Napoleon and...Winston Churchill - especially if the biographer is Richard Holmes, whose background is a happy blend of military academia and media friendliness. Professor Holmes tackles his subject at a Light Infantry pacem cracking through a wide-ranging biography with confidence and good humour.' Independent on Sunday 'The appeal of Holmes's books is not merely their authority but their style. His lightness of touch makes these 500 pages a joy to read as well as an education.' The Times 'Richard Holmes's new biography...is probably as comprehensive an account of Marlborough as any single volume can hope to be...there is nobody writing who can move from column into line quite as smoothly as [he] does.' David Crane, Spectator 'When it comes to balancing tales of Marlborough's flaws with those of his genius for war, Holmes discharges his material relentlessly...His descriptions of the general's tactical system, the way he ran his armues...are all excellent.' Waterstones Books Quarterly 'His lucid descriptions of the battles...make this work outstanding...Holmes has written what must be the best, because fairest, biography of Marlborough.' Daily Telegraph 'Mr Holmes argues persuasively that the duke's skill lay in probing his opponent's defences, then moving quickly and committing troops when a weakness opened up.' Economist Praise for 'Tommy': 'Holmes is one of our foremost military scholars and a skilled writer who knows his audience well. This is excellent popular history: scholarly, highly readable and utterly absorbing.' Daily Telegraph 'Monumental!Every page of this is worth reading.' Time Out Praise for 'Redcoat': '"Redcoat" is not just a work of history but of enthusiasm and unparalleled knowledge. This is a wonderful book, doing justice to men who have long deserved a chronicler of Richard Holmes' skill.' Bernard Cornwell 'It would be hard to exaggerate the excellence of this book. Vivid, comprehensive, well-written, pacy, colourful.' Simon Heffer '"Redcoat" is the story of the British soldier from the Seven Year War through to the Mutiny and Crimea. It is consistently entertaining, full of brilliantly chosen anecdotes and rattles along at a good light infantry pace.' David Crane, Spectator 'All the best-known soldier writers are discussed here, and their anecdotes are told with enthusiasm and aplomb!This is an army from another world, and Redcoat is a splendidly entertaining, moving and informative description of its strengths and foibles.' Hew Strachan, Daily Telegraph

Product Description

Best-selling military historian Richard Holmes delivers an expertly written and exhilarating account of the life of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, Britain's finest soldier, who rose from genteel poverty to lead his country to glory, cementing its position as a major player on the European stage and saviour of the Holy Roman Empire. John Churchill is, by any reasonable analysis, Britain's greatest ever soldier. He mastered strategy, tactics and logistics. His big four battles -- Blenheim (which saved the Holy Roman Empire), Ramilies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet -- were events at the very centre of the European stage. He captured Lille, France's second city, overran Bavaria and beat a succession of French marshals so badly that one, the squat and energetic Bofflers, was rewarded by Louis XIV for only losing moderately. A coalition manager long before the phrase was invented, he commanded a huge polyglot army with centrifugal political tendencies and bending it to his will by sheer force of personality. He was also a politician on the domestic stage, intimate with two monarchs, James II and Queen Anne, and the prop of successive cabinets. He had extraordinary strength and durability. His family connections wove him into the fabric of Europe: his sister Arabella was James II's mistress and their son, James, Duke of Berwick, was one of Louis XIV's most successful commanders. Although the Marlboroughs lost their only son Jack to smallpox, both their daughters married Whig grandees, and their descendants include Sir Winston Churchill and Earl Spencer. Yet John Churchill was also deeply controversial. He accepted a pension from one of Charles II's mistresses for services vigorously rendered. He owed his rise and his peerage to James II yet, determined to be on the winning side, he deserted him in his hour of need in 1688. He maintained regular correspondence with the Jacobites while serving William and Mary and with the French while fighting Louis XIV. He made money on a prodigious scale, but was notoriously tight-fisted, long regretting an annuity given to a secretary whose quick-wittedness saved him from capture. But in the age when commissions were bought and sold, and commanders often owed their position to the hue of their blood, he never lost his soldiers' confidence.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 564 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (January 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007225717
• ISBN-13: 978-0007225712
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #872,478 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Template for Winston Churchill?, January 12, 2009

By	Les Fearns "casahistoria.net" (UK) - See all my reviews

Richard Holmes's biography of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, the early 18th century English/British military leader is much more than the story of a single life. For non specialists of the period like myself it gives a clear and well explained narrative of the complex political developments of the period within which Marlborough operated. Much more satisfying than for example the context provided by the Walpole biography by Pearce reviewed earlier. Marlborough is shown very much as a product of being born into the losing side of the civil war period, determined never again to be wrong footed by political change.

There is much of related interest here: I was unaware for example of the practice in allied forces of changing commanders on alternate days when two leaders were of equal rank. One key thread running through is the links that are apparent between this Churchill and his relative, the World War II leader. Marlborough headed an alliance of many nations against the great power of the time (France); he had to court support and bite his lip at times to keep the alliances in place; he delegated wisely and made very good use of intelligence; he needed to rely on materiel and financial support from elsewhere. Ultimately, like Winston Churchill he was turned away from with victory. Holmes alludes to these comparisons, but does not labour them. Indeed he shows Winston Churchill as a flawed biographer of Marlborough himself. Nonetheless the similarities between the two are eerie, leading one to speculate how much Winston Churchill actively used the example of Marlborough's experience to determine his own relationships with the allied leaders in World War II.

Holmes is a military historian and the prospect of page after page of the military campaigns fought may be a daunting prospect for many. However, Holmes does not allow these to dominate and keeps a good balance between these and the other factors, notably his wife Sarah, that influenced the man. All in all a well rounded and researched biography with relevant illustrations and very helpful map (although a key to the annotation of military maps would be useful to the non specialist) and a good read.