Marlborough (British Lives)

British Lives

by J.R. Jones

John Churchill, first duke of Marlborough, was one of the two greatest military commanders in British history and the first subject to achieve and exercise a dominating influence in European affairs. With Wellington and Nelson he is the nearest that Britain has had to a national hero, yet today his reputation has faded. Few, apart from specialists in military history, have any appreciation of the extent of his achievements. This new study sets Marlborough's career in its the royal Court of the last Stuart monarchs, the desperate struggle against French attempts to establish hegemony in western Europe and the bitter political strife in Britain between the Whig and the Tory parties. It examines the opportunistic ways in which John Churchill rose from obscurity and poverty to wealth and greatness, his decisive role in the Revolution of 1688 and the circumstances and reasons for his dramatic fall.

Genres: History, Biography

256 pages, Paperback

First published February 25, 1993

About the author

A specialist in the history of Stuart England, J. R. Jones was lecturer in history at King's College, Newcastle from 1952 to 1963 and at the University of East Anglia from 1963 to 1966. He was appointed Professor of History at East Anglia in 1966, where he taught until his retirement in 1990.

Reviews

[Stephen]

This slim volume doesn’t waste a word. Excellent, particularly on the political & diplomatic dimensions of Marlborough’s campaigns.