Product Description

Bestselling military historian Richard Holmes delivers an expertly written and exhilarating account of the life of John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough and 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. 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 soldier's confidence.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21253 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Review
'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 pace, 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 'Outstanding...Holmes has written what must be the!fairest biography of Marlborough.' Daily Telegraph '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 armies...are all excellent.' Waterstones Books Quarterly 'Fascinating and revealing...Holmes has done his subject full justice by crafting a quite brilliant, judicious and fully-rounded portrait that should go some way to restoring Marlborough's reputation as a truly Great Briton.' Sunday Telegraph 'A very good read, about a very great man.' Independent on Sunday '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 'As comprehensive an account of Marlborough as a single volume can hope to be. Holmes is at his best!that eye for detail, grasp of subject, deployment of sources, combine to produce as lucid and vivid an account of warfare as one could ask for.' Spectator 'Richard Holmes...is a good storyteller...his chief interest remains those battles where maps and tactics are more important than charm, uncertainty and luck.' Economist 'A modern, up-to-date "life and times" written in a jaunty style...those who enjoyed Holmes's earlier works...will know what to expect.' TES '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 'Holmes depicts the moral and political landscape of an entire age in this rewarding biography of the British general.' Sunday Times 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 'A wonderful book, full of anecdote and good sense. Anyone who has enjoyed a Sharpe story will love it.' Bernard Cornwell, Daily Mail '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

Sunday Telegraph
"fascinating and revealing...Holmes has done his subject full justice by crafting a...judicious portrait...restoring Marlborough's reputation as a truly Great Briton"

The Spectator
"probably as comprehensive an account of Marlborough as a single volume can hope to be..."

Customer Reviews

Well worth a look
Yet another great biography of a great man that I have read in the past few weeks. There must be something in the water that encourages authors to turn these out!
This a very readable and informative biography of someone who is possibly not as well known or appreciated as perhaps he should be as he was directly and indirectly responsible for much of the Europe we see today, so his legacy truly lives on. The fact that he is probably best known as an ancestor of Winston Churchill and Princess Diana does him a great disservice as his life story is so remarkable that in the hands of such an experienced and skillful biographer as Mr Holmes it fairly leaps from the page, and makes this book, (cliche alert!) a real page turner...sorry but it's true. Although the author's expertise is towards military history, he does touch on the importance of his personal relationships and political machinations that went on around him, but not in as great depth. Hibbert's book "The Marlboroughs" which has more detail on his relationship with his wife Sarah and her equally remarkable story is probably as good a book as any for that.

By all accounts Marlborough should be held in as high esteem as Nelson and Wellington in the English/British psyche, and this book goes a good way to supporting that thesis.

Not just for the military history buffs
It's always nice to see another talented historian breaking into the mainstream with a first-class biography for the general reader. Although Holmes is a military historian--and it shows--this isn't a book for anoraks. The earlier sections of the book explain a lot about the financial and political minefields trodden by men and women of property. This is a great help in understanding how Churchill--whose father was on the wrong side in the civil war, and emerged almost destitute--schemed, fought and slept his way to a Dukedom (and even a German Principality). The portrait that emerges is, on the whole, quite sympathetic. The comments of his subordinates weigh very heavily on the positive side, and if his loyalty to James, William and Anne was less than absolute, he never deserted his allies Godolphin, Cadogan or Prince Eugene. He was clearly besotted with his appalling wife, who was finally more of a hindrance than a help to him, and his behaviour towards her was entirely honourable.

Holmes does a very skillful job of weaving narrative, comment and well-chosen contemporary quotations. Churchill/Marlborough was unquestionably a genius, combining the political skills to keep his disparate alliance together, and military skills that were more than equal to the finest that France had to offer. We should never forget that the French were, at the time, the unquestioned masters in all things military, and that their population was about three times that of Britain's.

As a biography, this book can perhaps be excused for its very sketchy coverage of the Spanish theatre of war; after all, the war was fought to keep a Bourbon off the Spanish throne. Nor is there any comment to help us understand how Britain managed to finance its wars--the key issue which relatively few historians seem to understand. Nonetheless, Holmes is to be congratulated for a spendid achievement; like all good historians, he has read deeply enough from original documents to have an instinctive understanding of how people thought and why they acted as they did, and to interpret these in a generous, but by no means credulous, spirit.

A fine overview of the great man
A fine overview of the life of Marlborough with some interesting details and fascinating insights. This may not be the definitive book on Marlborough (I think that honour still lays with Churchill's 3 volume history of his illustrious ancestor) but it would serve as a useful companion to the Churchill series giving some much needed balance to Churchill's occasionally one sided view.
The book has a minor but niggling weakness in that the title, 'England's Fragile Genius' seems to have little connection with the contents. It mentions his headaches and various illnesses but he doesn't seem to be portrayed as particularly fragile.
The major strength of this book is Holmes descriptive capabilities. I've previously read descriptions of the Battle of Sedgemoor and been quite baffled but Richard Holmes made it quite clear what the movements of troops meant to the outcome of the battle and gave some indication as to where mistakes were made and how each side capitalised on the mistakes or misfortune of the other.
A fine book - a good overview and a sound objective analysis of the life of the first Duke of Marlborough.