Marlborough: His Life and Times - Critical Review

Critical Review

A review of the book was provided by Roy Jenkins in his biography of Churchill. He described it as 'a revelation' at least to someone 'under educated in late-Stuart history' such as himself. He felt the first chapter was a somewhat dull description of Marlborough's ancestors, but the remainder was an exhilarating description of Restoration England and Europe in the time of Charles II. Churchill was at some pains to refute the poor impression of Marlborough made by Thomas Babington Macaulay 100 years earlier in his history of that period, when he had criticised Marlborough's switch of loyalty from Charles II to William of Orange, and later dealings with the exiled James II. However, Jenkins notes a similar tendency for Churchill in his turn to be excessively critical about Louis XIV.

Churchill was sceptical of the claim that Marlborough at seventeen or eighteen became the lover of the King's mistress, but accepted that he did so somewhat later, at 20. In 1675, however, he met the fifteen-year-old Sarah Jennings, whom he married and lived with contentedly for the remainder of their lives. They were of comparable social status, but neither had any significant money. Churchill saw similarities between his ancestor and himself.