The Great Marlborough & His Duchess

by Virginia Cowles

Cowles, Virginia, Great Marlborough And His The Dramatic Story Of John Ch

Genres: History, Biography

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

(Harriet) Virginia Spencer Cowles OBE was a noted American journalist, biographer, and travel writer. During her long career, Cowles went from covering fashion, to covering the Spanish Civil War, the turbulent period in Europe leading up to World War II, and the entire war. Her service as a correspondent was recognized by the British government with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1947. After the war, she published a number of critically acclaimed biographies of historical figures. In 1983, while traveling with her husband in France, she was killed in an automobile accident near Biarritz.

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s one of those rare occasions when I am not sure at all how high or low rate a book. Truth to be told, I bought it (online), finally opened it, read a preface and practically on the spot regretted my choice. Somehow the beginning which states “The French are a chauvinistic people...” spoiled my anticipation of the great story waiting to be read. I nearly put the book down to not to be opened ever again, but in the end my wish to read about both John and Sarah Marlborough won, and I definitely do not regret it. The book is very thorough, very rich and easy to read. Story - undoubtedly captivating, and two its ambiguous (each in their unique way) heroes showed in a way it’s very hard not to feel sympathy for them. Yes, even for the completely unruly Duchess. But then there comes the caveat, or maybe two or three intertwined ones. First, no doubt that author researched(and probably researched well) her subject(s), but there is no bibliography attached, and if you look at references throughout the book itself, then it seems that main sources are Sarah herself and four volume work of Winston Churchill (descendant of the duke), what somehow makes you doubt their impartiality and hence the impartiality of the book itself. However, it’s something which in meantime I can forgive, since both Duke and his Duchess hardly will leave anyone without their own opinion, good or bad. Second, and that was much harder to swallow, author’s style endlessly reminds that the book was written by a journalist, not by a historian (at least not a contemporary one), and that often is quite irritating. Nevertheless the book itself and even more, its two protagonists as well, is more than worth to be explored and read.