CHURCHILL, Sarah.

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An Account of the Conduct of the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough, First or early edition of this sensational justification of the author's and her husband's service to Queen Anne. It was rapidly reprinted in 1742 and ESTC records multiple editions of that year without determining priority.The work "must be seen as an apologia for herself and her husband. It was intended primarily to rehabilitate their own reputations, and to restate the grievances of ill treatment and ingratitude to which Sarah believed they had been subject. Although the events described were long past, the publication of the Conduct caused a minor sensation in polite society and attracted criticism, although Henry Fielding wrote persuasively in support of Sarah's conclusions" (ODNB).Sarah dictated the book to her friend Nathaniel Hooke, who is often named as sole or co- author; "Hooke's role in the final book has usually been overestimated: he merely improved the style as Sarah dictated the contents, drawing upon previous drafts" (Field, pp. 432-3).

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