Marlborough: His Life and Times, 1934

The second installment in the acclaimed four-volume biography of Winston Churchill's ancestor, the Duke of Marlborough. After the defeat of the Conservative government in the 1929 general election, Winston Churchill distanced himself from the official Conservative leadership over a myriad of issues, including Indian Home Rule and protective tariffs. During this time, Churchill entered a period of political exile-a time he referred to as "the wilderness years." While it may have been a low point in his political career, it was a high point for his writing. It was during this time that Churchill began his work on Marlborough: His Life and Times, widely considered to be one of Churchill's most ambitious and masterful literary works. Although sometimes maligned and not as well known in contemporary times as his more famous descendant-Churchill himself-Marlborough was known in his day as a gifted military commander who never lost a battle.