A full insider’s history of the Spencer family, from the sheep-farmers of the sixteenth century through the Civil War and then the relationship with the Marlboroughs, on through the 19th century when the third Earl was one of the architects of the 1832 Reform Bill, to recent years and the death of Princess Diana. Filled with great events, odd characters and intimate personal matters, this is a hugely satisfying history of one of England’s great families. And in the last chapter, Charles Spencerwrites about his own views on the family’s history and what hopes he has for the future.