Marlborough: His Life and Times, 1934 book cover

Marlborough: His Life and Times, 1934

Pages: 717
|
Published: 1 Jan 1934
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Description

The second volume in “a sustained meditation on statecraft and war by the greatest war leader of our time. ” (Foreign Affairs).
 
The second installment in the acclaimed four-volume biography of Winston Churchill’s ancestor, the Duke of Marlborough. After the defeat of the Conservative government in the 1929 general election, Winston Churchill distanced himself from the official Conservative leadership over a myriad of issues, including Indian Home Rule and protective tariffs. During this time, Churchill entered a period of political exile—a time he referred to as “the wilderness years. ”

While it may have been a low point in his political career, it was a high point for his writing. It was during this time that Churchill began his work on Marlborough: His Life and Times, widely considered to be one of Churchill’s most ambitious and masterful literary works. Although sometimes maligned and not as well known in contemporary times as his more famous descendant—Churchill himself—Marlborough was known in his day as a gifted military commander who never lost a battle. This second volume brings his military successes, political intrigues, and personal passions to life, while his descendant reflects “on the perplexities of alliances, the paradoxes of strategy, and the stresses of combat” (Foreign Affairs).