Also known as the War of the Spanish Succession, Marlborough's Wars (1702-13), fought in Europe and on the Mediterranean, were the last and the bloodiest of the Wars between England and France under Louis XIV, and the first in which Britain played a major military role in European military affairs. In 1700 Louis had antagonized the English by accepting (in defiance of treaties) the bequest of the Spanish empire to his grandson Philip of Anjou, and by his subsequent prohibition of English imports and recognition of the claim to the English throne put forward by James, the "Old Pretender," who was the son of the deposed James II and the leader of the Jacobites. England's Grand Alliance with Holland, the Hapsburg Empire, Hanover, and Prussia, intended to prevent French dominance over all of Europe, was opposed by France, Spain, Bavaria, and Savoy. After the death of William III in 1702, Queen Anne, James's daughter, appointed John Churchill, the earl of Marlborough, as commander of the English and Dutch armies. A brilliant soldier - brave, handsome, skilfull - Marlborough was also opportunistic, crafty, deceptive, and tight-fisted.During the War Marlborough waged ten successful campaigns, beseiged over thirty towns, and never lost a battle or a skirmish. After his successes in the Netherlands, the Bavarians and the French threatened Vienna and the Austrians, and Marlborough, a master of tactics and strategy, marched 250 miles across Germany and confronted the French army at Blenheim in 1704, destroying two thirds of it and capturing Marshall Tallard, its commander. Thereafter, however, the war dragged on on different fronts - in the Netherlands, Italy, and Spain - but by 1710 the situation was largely stalemated, though the war as a whole had brought Britain into much greater prominence as a European power.....George Alfred Henty (8 December 1832 - 16 November 1902) was a prolific English novelist and war correspondent.He is best known for his historical adventure stories that were popular in the late 19th century. His works include The Dragon & The Raven (1886), For The Temple (1888), Under Drake's Flag (1883) and In Freedom's Cause (1885).BiographyG. A. Henty was born in Trumpington, near Cambridge. He was a sickly child who had to spend long periods in bed. During his frequent illnesses he became an avid reader and developed a wide range of interests which he carried into adulthood. He attended Westminster School, London, and later Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he was a keen sportsman. He left the university early without completing his degree to volunteer for the Army Hospital Commissariat when the Crimean War began. He was sent to the Crimea and while there he witnessed the appalling conditions under which the British soldier had to fight. His letters home were filled with vivid descriptions of what he saw. His father was impressed by his letters and sent them to The Morning Advertiser newspaper which printed them. This initial writing success was a factor in Henty's later decision to accept the offer to become a special correspondent, the early name for journalists now better known as war correspondents.Shortly before resigning from the army as a captain in 1859 he married Elizabeth Finucane. The couple had four children. Elizabeth died in 1865 after a long illness and shortly after her death Henty began writing articles for the Standard newspaper. In 1866 the newspaper sent him as their special correspondent to report on the Austro-Italian War where he met Giuseppe Garibaldi. He went on to cover the 1868 British punitive expedition to Abyssinia, the Franco-Prussian War, the Ashanti War, the Carlist Rebellion in Spain and the Turco-Serbian War.He also witnessed the opening of the Suez Canal and travelled to Palestine, Russia and India.