England joined the Grand Alliance against France in the War of Spanish Succession (known as Queen Anne’s War in the American colonies). The conflict continued for about 12 years and was fought mostly in Spain, northern Italy, southern Germany, and the Spanish Netherlands. General Sir John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, was one of the greatest military geniuses of his age. He led the English forces throughout the war in the Netherlands, and won a number of brilliant victories against the French. At Blenheim, one of his greatest victories, the French and Bavarian army of 50,000 suffered 50% casualties. Marlborough pursued the French to the end, defeating them at Ramillies, Oudenarde, Lille, and Malplaquet. As his descendant, Sir Winston Churchill, said, “He never rode off any field except as a victor.”

Rupert Holiday, a young man greatly influenced by both his grandfather and an exiled French aristocrat who teaches him fencing, is forced to flee England after injuring a miscreant in a fight. He joins the Duke of Marlborough’s forces in the Low Countries and welcomes the combat so richly detailed by the author. Full of adventure and military prowess, this historically detailed book helped launch Henty’s career as a writer of boys’ novels.

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