Charles Petrie (1895–1977)

Charles Petrie was a highly respected historian who specialized in Restoration England. His work led him to this biography of John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough's nephew.
Berwick seems to have been a competent Soldier being credited with a victory in Spain at Almanza, and took Barcelona in the army of the Bourbons. But as the illegitimate Catholic son of James II and Marlborough's sister Arabella Churchill, the British Service was closed to him. His title of Duke of Berwick was given him by James II prior to "The Glorious Revolution".
All in all, a very interesting biography of a good deal of interest to fans of the Churchill family. He never fought his cousin John across the same battlefield, though they had close calls. The French and English Churchills were in contact with each other across the entire "War of the Spanish Succession" and afterwards.… (mais)

1299. Don John of Austria, by Sir Charles Petrie (9 Nov 1974) The 16th century was such a momentous century and is so much studied that I sometimes shy away from it, figuring I know all re it I need to. But it is full of interest and in the hands of historians who see things as I hope they were, there is enjoyable reading to be done re the era. This book is a good example. Don John was born, probably, on Feb 24, 1547, and died--Governor-General of the Netherlands--on Oct. 1, 1578. The high point of his life, of course, was the battle of Lepanto on Oct 7, 1571. This is a learned book, although rather heavy in long quotations from long-winded letters written in 16th century style.… (mais)

2346 The Edwardians, by Sir Charles Petrie, Bt.C.B.E., M.A.(Oxon), F.R.Hist.Soc. (read 29 Nov 1990) This is an odd, jumbled book, without much rhyme or reason to it. The things it says are often interesting, but of varying significance. It often sounds rambling, and there is a lot of quotation. About the only unifying theme is that most of what Petrie talks about refers to what happened during the reign of Edward VII. It doesn't have a bibliography, though some of the books listed in the footnotes seem as if they would be interesting.… (mais)