Whenever the history books have to describe the reign of Queen Anne in one paragraph or less, the name of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough invariably pops up, together with a coy reference to Anne's "friendship" with Sarah, or Sarah's "influence" with Anne.

The facts are these: Sarah Churchill, nee Jennings, was the wife of the renowned Captain-General John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough and de facto prime minister of England during the Wars of the Spanish Succesion (not to mention umpteenth great-grandfather to Sir Winston.) At SOME point during the Spanish war, she and Anne had a huge falling out, following which Marlborough was stripped of his post and forced into early retirement at his new estate, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire.

Where this biography excels is in chronicling the palace life of Sarah, who lived most of her childhood in the royal residences as a playmate and confidante of Princess (later to be Queen) Anne. Green had unfettered access to the Blenheim Palace archives and to Sarah's private correspondence and diaries. Following her split with Anne, and Marlborough's death, he steers us through Sarah's later life, when she became eccentric, obstreporous and highly litigious. Sarah, a voluminious writer, is omnipresent, and her intelligence and sarcastic wit still sparkle as we read her thoughts (and jibes).

The big lingering mystery that this book prefers not to address is Sarah's own sexuality. It's clear - abundantly, painfully, tragically so - that Anne's "passion" for Sarah was much more than platonic. But whether Sarah reciprocated these feelings, or merely played on them in order to win preferment for herself and her husband, is a question Green doesn't address. We are left to draw our own conclusions - but perhaps there's nothing wrong with that.

Chandler's treatment of this period of warfare falls far short of what other histories and studies offer. Thus, it should be viewed as a general guide ONLY, and to serve as a basic framework from which the reader can further pursue this subject.

The author is an eminent military scholar and this work, first published in 1976, still gives readers an accurate and comprehensive introduction to its subject. Chandler has a nice command of the English language, is thoroughly versed in the details and arcana of the technical aspects of the military art of the age he writes of, and places the subject of the book very adeptly into the context of the times, with appropriate nods to politics, economics, and the cultural ethos. He further offers good insights into the influence of the preceding era's style of warfare on that practised in the age of Marlborough, as well as giving an idea of the impact of Marlborough's period on the subsequent evolvement of warfare later in the 18th century.

As in any work of synthesis, Chandler's work cannot replace primal sources such as drill manuals, letters, diaries, memoirs, etc., from participants in the warfare he covers. Nor should it be read in expectation of giving a book-length treatment to any one battle or campaign -- Chandler is clearly painting with a broader brush in hope of giving us the big picture, albeit one that gives enough detail to stand magnified scrutiny.

Those who come to the subject via Chandler's work may well be intrigued enough to delve into more narrowly-oriented works on specific arms, units, battles or campaigns. Those whom want a good slice more of the reality of the age than the decent but very, very brief overviews offered by, say, the Osprey series cannot go wrong with either a used or reprint version of this book. Let those who cavil at its quality offer a list of more complete, accurate and pleasurable books covering the same topic in the same fine but broad manner.

Informative, entertaining and well organized, The Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough is an essential work for anyone interested in the European military art of the early 18th century. The book includes detailed comparisons (including diagrams in many cases) of the competing tactical systems used by infantry and cavalry of the day; in addition, there is extensive material on artillery technoloogy and employment as well as engineering and siegecraft. The individual fortunate enough to own this work, Nosworthy's *Anatomy of Victory,* and Christopher Duffy's various volumes (alas, many are currently out of print--strong arguments for publishing-on-demand) will know about as much about 18th-century warfare in Europe as any layman really needs to know.

It might be true that Chen makes a lot of money from his moody-toned paintings, but his style is the most sickening, "have noting to say so make it beautiful" kind of thing, which should make every artist throw up. if you want to buy this book because you think it's beautiful, it will be valid that you can replace your girlfriend with a hot human-like doll: they both don't have souls.