Books

First edition, signed limited issue, number 121 of 155 copies signed by the author. "One million words long and ten years in the making, Marlborough is Churchill's greatest biography. It may be his greatest book" (Langworth, p. 164). During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1715), Churchill's ancestor, the first Duke of Marlborough, led allied forces to victory against Louis XIV; his signal successes at Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet mark him as one of the great captains of history. Churchill was given exclusive access to the Blenheim archives to research the book. On publication, the work "took its place at once among the classics of historical writing. As the story of his ancestor's leadership of a grand alliance to prevent the domination of the continent by a single power, it was also a source of inspiration to Churchill in his campaign against appeasement" (ODNB). This is the only signed limited issue of any of Churchill's major books. Four volumes, large octavo (223 x 146 mm). Recent orange morocco, in the style of the original bindings, spines lettered in gilt, Marlborough's arms in gilt to front covers, marbled endpapers, gilt edges. Portrait frontispiece to each volume, 99 additional plates, 14 facsimiles of letters, and 182 maps and plans, several folding. Scattered very light foxing, else a fine set. Cohen A97.2(I-IV).a; Woods A40(a). Richard Langworth, A Connoisseur's Guide to the Books of Sir Winston Churchill, 1998.

Marlborough: His Life and Times is a comprehensive biography of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, written by Winston Churchill. The work details the Duke's military campaigns and personal life.