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The First Churchill: The Life of John, First Duke of Marlborough
Book by Thomson, George Malcolm
338 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 11, 2018
A bit dated but solid. A good eye for a phrase but sometimes lacking in insight. I just guess I’m hankering after a Chandler Campaigns Of Napoleon treatment...
October 7, 2022
A great read. Written in a style you don’t see any more, as history writing has become more clinical, with dry British humor and sarcasm.
December 7, 2014
Thomson wraps up Marlborough's life with almost an invitation to read more.
."He had set out to destroy the military power of France and, in this purpose he felt that he had been frustrated. As Moltke after Koniggratz had wanted to destroy Austria and, to his annoyance, had been forbidden by Bismarck, so Marlborough had been denied that final campaign which was to have taken him to Paris. But if France was not destroyed, her domination of Europe did not survive the constellation of victories of which the first was Blenheim. Britain was to dominate the next phase in the evolution of the world, thanks in a measure to Marlborough's victories. More than that, Oxford and Bolingbroke, who had half-betrayed his work, had also half-completed it. Their peace-making, hurried and clumsy as it was, had made the Mediterranean a British sea and had ensured that Newfoundland and Hudson's Bay - and therefore, in the not so distant future, Canada - should lie in Britain's sphere." (page 299)
."He had set out to destroy the military power of France and, in this purpose he felt that he had been frustrated. As Moltke after Koniggratz had wanted to destroy Austria and, to his annoyance, had been forbidden by Bismarck, so Marlborough had been denied that final campaign which was to have taken him to Paris. But if France was not destroyed, her domination of Europe did not survive the constellation of victories of which the first was Blenheim. Britain was to dominate the next phase in the evolution of the world, thanks in a measure to Marlborough's victories. More than that, Oxford and Bolingbroke, who had half-betrayed his work, had also half-completed it. Their peace-making, hurried and clumsy as it was, had made the Mediterranean a British sea and had ensured that Newfoundland and Hudson's Bay - and therefore, in the not so distant future, Canada - should lie in Britain's sphere." (page 299)
December 14, 2025
A very interesting book covering the life and accomplishments of The Duke of Marlborough, ‘The First Churchill’. The period in question is a fascinating read and the book provides both a detailed overview of the times of the period plus an in depth profile of the Duke himself. The General was a master tactician and was also an excellent statesman when dealing with the European powers. The author provides a vast amount of information relating to all key players involved in the conflicts and as I do not have a good grounding of the subject matter, I did struggle a little to fully understand certain passages. However, I would recommend the book as it provides a very good understanding of events as they unfolded in this very busy period of English and European history.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews