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Winston Churchill

The prime minister and Nobel Prize–winning historian begins his four-volume biography of the British statesman John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough.

In the first volume of this ambitious and stunningly written biography, Sir Winston S. Churchill discusses the early career and stratospheric rise of his illustrious, seventeenth century ancestor. John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough, may have been eclipsed in history by his more well-known descendant, but in his time, Marlborough was considered one of England’s foremost military and political leaders.

This first installment pays particular attention to personal details of Marlborough’s life, and the important role several women played in his success—including his sister, his wife, the Duchess of Cleveland, and Queen Anne herself. Churchill breathes life into these personal connections in order to showcase Marlborough not only as a luminary figure in British history, but also to bring him to life once again in the mind of the reader.

“A sustained meditation on statecraft and war by the greatest war leader of our time. ” —Foreign Affairs

“The greatest historical work written in our century, an inexhaustible mine of political wisdom and understanding, which should be required reading for every student of political science. ” —Leo Strauss

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Marlborough: His Life and Times

Marlborough: His Life and Times, 1933

The second volume in the Nobel Prize winner’s biography of John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough: “The greatest historical work written in our century” (Leo Strauss).

After the defeat of the Conservative government in the 1929 general election, Winston S. Churchill entered a period of political exile; a time he referred to as “the wilderness years. ” It was during this time that Churchill began his work on Marlborough: His Life and Times, widely considered to be one of his most ambitious and masterful literary works. Although not as well remembered as his more famous descendant—Churchill himself—Marlborough was an influential soldier and statesman of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Great Britain, known in his day as a gifted military commander who never lost a battle.

This second volume of Churchill’s four-part biography brings Marlborough’s 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).

“An inexhaustible mine of political wisdom and understanding, which should be required reading for every student of political science. ” —Leo Strauss

Marlborough: His Life and Times, 1934

The third volume of the Nobel Prize winner’s hailed biography of John Churchill covers his military leadership in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
 
 John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, was an accomplished military leader who never lost a battle. This is the third volume in Winston S. Churchill’s sweeping, four-part biography of his illustrious ancestor, in which he recounts Marlborough’s military successes in thrilling detail—including his support of William of Orange in the Glorious Revolution, his crucial role in the suppression of the Duke of Monmouth’s rebellion, and his success in negotiating England’s diplomatic position in the War of the Spanish Succession.
 
 With characteristic flair, Winston S. Churchill brings his ancestor’s campaigns, intrigues, and personal relationships to life—and restores him to a prominent place in English history.
 
“A sustained meditation on statecraft and war by the greatest war leader of our time.” —Foreign Affairs
 
“The greatest historical work written in our century, an inexhaustible mine of political wisdom and understanding, which should be required reading for every student of political science.” —Leo Strauss

Marlborough: His Life and Times, 1936

The moving conclusion to the acclaimed multivolume biography of one of Britain’s greatest military leaders by his Nobel Prize–winning descendant. 

The final installment in Winston S. Churchill’s four-volume biography of John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough—a famed military leader known for never having lost a military campaign. Despite his successes, Marlborough’s later years were full of struggle—including attacks from political and personal enemies.

Winston S. Churchill vividly recounts the intrigues and challenges of his ancestor’s extraordinarily eventful life. In this last volume, detailing the end of his career, Marlborough’s story is told with sensitivity and nuance—giving the reader an intimate glimpse into his state of mind. It’s a fascinating read for anyone interested in English history—and provides profound insights into leadership, loyalty, and personal conduct as valuable today as three centuries ago.

“A sustained meditation on statecraft and war by the greatest war leader of our time. ” —Foreign Affairs

“The greatest historical work written in our century, an inexhaustible mine of political wisdom and understanding, which should be required reading for every student of political science. ” —Leo Strauss