By the summer of 1704 Louis XIV's vast armies threatened to dominate Europe. Two men conspired to save the continent from French rule: John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, and Prince Eugene of Savoy. Deep in Germany, these two committed allies sought to engage Louis's superior forces. At Blenheim, their daring plans came to fruition — and the French were utterly destroyed.

From the deliberations of kings and princes, to the eyewitness accounts of frontline soldiers, Blenheim: Battle for Europe is a compelling account of a major turning point in European history.

' Compulsively readable... the pages of this vividly written book are populated by memorable secondary characters' —Andrew Roberts, Mail on Sunday

Charles Spencer was educated at Eton College and obtained his degree in Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford. Since he was a boy the Battle of Blenheim has fascinated him, partly because of the Spencer-Churchill direct link to the engagement's prime victor, John, Duke of Marlborough. While in the middle of a seven-year stint as a correspondent for NBC News in the United States, Charles Spencer inherited the ancestral home of Althorp, Northampton, which he has since restored and refurbished. He achieved world-wide attention after speaking passionately at the funeral of his sister Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997.