In just thirteen years, George Villiers rose from plain squire to become the only duke in England and the most powerful politician in the land. Does a new biography finally unravel the secrets of his success?

John Adamson investigates.

John Adamson - Love Island with Ruffs

John Adamson: Love Island with Ruffs - The Scapegoat: The Brilliant Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham by Lucy Hughes-Hallett

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During the 1930s, Winston Churchill retired to Chartwell, his Tudor-style country house in Kent, where he plotted a return to power.

Richard Vinen asks whether it’s time to rename the decade long regarded as Churchill’s ‘wilderness years’.

Richard Vinen - Croquet & Conspiracy

Richard Vinen: Croquet & Conspiracy - Churchill’s Citadel: Chartwell and the Gatherings Before the Storm by Katherine Carter

literaryreview.co.uk