This image is the cover for the book Battle for Europe

Battle for Europe

A “wondrously enthralling” history of the bloody battle that ended Louis XIV’s dream of European domination (The Times, UK).

In 1704, the armies of French King Louis XIV were poised to extend the French frontiers to the Rhine and install a French prince on the Spanish throne. But as French forces marched toward Vienna, allied armies commanded by John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, and Prince Eugene of Savoy set out to oppose them.

The two forces clashed at Blenheim, in Bavaria, and the previously undefeated French were routed. Based on original sources, this “thoughtful, interesting, and well-written” narrative brings the battle to life, capturing the deliberations of kings as well as the experiences of ordinary soldiers (The Sunday Telegraph, UK).

Charles Spencer

CHARLES SPENCER is the brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, and a direct descendant of the Duke of Marlborough. After earning a degree in modern history from Magdalen College, Oxford, he worked for seven years as an NBC correspondent. His previous books are Althorp: The Story of an English House and The Spencers: A Personal History of an English Family. He lives at Althorp, his ancestral home in Northampton, and in London.

Wiley