The Spencers: A Personal History of an English Family
by Charles Spencer, Earl Spencer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Charles Spencer, Earl SpencerEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2000-09
ISBN: 0312266499
Number of pages: 350
Publisher: St Martins Pr
Book Reviews of The Spencers: A Personal History of an English Family
Book Review: First-rate and highly readable dynastic history
Summary: 5 Stars
The author, brother of the late Princess of Wales, succeeded to the title at his father's death in 1992. The 9th earl has an Oxford degree in modern history and a refreshingly unprotective attitude toward his own forebears (the probable descendants of Tudor sheep-farmers with no claim to a connection with the Le Despensers of Normandy, whatever family tradition says), who included some very iffy characters as well as art patrons, active politicians, and military heroes. Robert, the first Baron Spencer, was perhaps the wealthiest man in England. Henry Spencer, the first earl of Sunderland, gave Charles I the sum of ?10,000 on the eve of the Civil War, then died on the battlefield, while his ruthless and over-ambitious son became politically influential but was widely disliked. Georgiana, the celebrated duchess of Devonshire in the 18th century, was a Spencer, but her sister, Lady Caroline Lamb, was Byron's mistress. George John, the second earl, was the patron of Horatio Nelson and built the largest private library in Europe -- but nearly bankrupted his family in the process. Sir Winston Churchill was a Spencer, too. The fifth earl was Viceroy of Ireland and served often in Gladstone's cabinet, but never succeeded in his ambition to become Prime Minister. (Apparently, the less said about the present earl's parents and step-parents, the better; the tabloids pretty much own that subject.) And through the centuries, the family has amassed and managed and conserved its wealth, built fine homes, collected fine art (and sat for Reynolds, Gainsborough, and Sargent), and gone about its business. While the history is anecdotal, not academic (although there's a good selected bibliography), this is a recommended treatment of one of the less-famous (until Diana) titled families in Britain. I'm also pleased to say that, despite her brother's well-publicized disapproval of the Windsors, the late princess gets only a brief mention at the end of the book; no tabloidism here. Finally, previous reviewers who complained about the author's claim of descent from the Despensers (actually, he dismisses any such family myth) and his lack of sources (there's quite a good bibliography) must not have read the same book I did. (Maybe the recent Baylor grad should have gone through the master's program with me at UT. . . .)
Summary of The Spencers: A Personal History of an English Family
Best known in recent history for Lady Diana Spencer, who became the Princess of Wales when she married Prince Charles in 1981, the Spencer family has had close ties to English royalty for at least 500 years. Indeed, Diana's grandfather claimed that "the word Spencer derives from the Norman word for Steward, or Head of Household: 'Despenser,'" and that their ancestor was steward to the household of William the Conqueror in 1066. While historians have debated both sides of this particular family legend, it is indisputable that from the early 16th century Diana's forebears had moved beyond their origins as sheep farmers to forge intimate connections with the English court.In addition to generations of Spencer barons, earls, and dukes, there were politicians and poets, courtiers and clerics, soldiers and scoundrels. There was an earlier Lady Diana Spencer, who nearly married the Prince of Wales in 1730 and who, like the modern Diana, died tragically young. Sir Winston Churchill was a Spencer; for generations his family name was hyphenated as Spencer-Churchill. The history of the family is alive with many other fascinating characters: from Henry Spencer, who gave Charles I the astonishing sum of ?10,000 on the eve of the Civil War; through the scandalous society beauty Georgiana Devonshire, daughter of the first Countess Spencer, who sold her kisses for votes in favor of Charles James Fox; to George John, the Second Earl, owner of the greatest private library in Europe and patron of Horatio Nelson.
In many ways the story of the Spencer family is really the story of England-or at least of the English aristocracy. Using archives and documents previously unavailable and incorporating his personal experiences of the family, Charles Spencer offers a fascinating, rich, and illuminating social history.
That this book would have been less likely without a certain English princess is beyond dispute. Even Charles Spencer won't deny the influence famous sister had in keeping the family image prominent in both the public eye and the marketplace, whether that means books or Althorp guided tours. Yet he avoids capitalizing on Diana's name, and in the process creates a lively history of a powerful family in an age when, as Spencer writes, "the aristocracy ... is most often perceived as an anachronism." The Spencers first came to the fore in the 15th and 16th centuries. Prosperous Northamptonshire sheep farmers who spun wool into gold, their influence in both politics and the military grew steadily until no Cabinet was complete without a Spencer. Their family tree in subsequent centuries featured a few common themes, including patronage of the arts, a liberal Whig sensibility, books and bookmakers, and sons who chose between the ecclesiastical cloth and the gaming cloth. But they were perhaps most interesting for their women, strong-willed, resolute characters like Sarah Marlborough, Lavinia Spencer, and Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. While the Spencer men held power, their wives wielded it. And what of the most famous female Spencer of all, Diana? The author wisely deals with her in less than a paragraph, aware of the glut of words already used up on her life. Unfortunately such discipline doesn't extend to the publishers, who include a picture of her on the book's cover and say that its contents put her life into "vivid context." This is to do an injustice to her brother's cause, for his mix of historical research and family legends makes for a readable account in its own right, enlivened rather than spoiled by his engaging and distinctively Spencerian voice. --David Vincent
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