Rating: 
Summary: Self-Serving History, But Interesting, Too
Review: Charles Spencer is very careful to make almost no direct references to his more famous sister, Diana, in his family history "The Spencers," but her picture appears on the jacket, for marketing purposes I guess. He does make several veiled (thinly veiled) references to Diana's ancestors who similarly suffered from being misunderstood by the press and being ahead of their times. Diana was no Georgiana, let's leave it at that. The book, while free of any scholarly pretenses (there are no footnotes and the bibliography is scanty), is rife with fascinating characters, some of whom are not really related to the Spencer clan at all. For example, the Earl of Spencer devotes an entire chapter to the famous Sarah Churchill, First Duchess of Marlborough, who was merely a mother-in-law to a Spencer. She did serve the role of uniting the two families through her complicated bequests, but she is most widely known as the Power Behind the Throne to Queen Anne, and her lengthy treatment in this book is inappropriate. However, several other Spencers (most emphatically Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire) led fascinating lives, and the author tells their stories with sympathy and the occasional dash of venom or wit. This is not a book for serious historians, and it has all-too obvious agendas(slurring his step-mother Raine among them), but it whizzes through some of England's most interesting epochs and may inspire some to look deeper elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Self-Serving History, But Interesting, Too
Review: Charles Spencer is very careful to make almost no direct references to his more famous sister, Diana, in his family history "The Spencers," but her picture appears on the jacket, for marketing purposes I guess. He does make several veiled (thinly veiled) references to Diana's ancestors who similarly suffered from being misunderstood by the press and being ahead of their times. Diana was no Georgiana, let's leave it at that. The book, while free of any scholarly pretenses (there are no footnotes and the bibliography is scanty), is rife with fascinating characters, some of whom are not really related to the Spencer clan at all. For example, the Earl of Spencer devotes an entire chapter to the famous Sarah Churchill, First Duchess of Marlborough, who was merely a mother-in-law to a Spencer. She did serve the role of uniting the two families through her complicated bequests, but she is most widely known as the Power Behind the Throne to Queen Anne, and her lengthy treatment in this book is inappropriate. However, several other Spencers (most emphatically Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire) led fascinating lives, and the author tells their stories with sympathy and the occasional dash of venom or wit. This is not a book for serious historians, and it has all-too obvious agendas(slurring his step-mother Raine among them), but it whizzes through some of England's most interesting epochs and may inspire some to look deeper elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: A pleasurable historical read
Review: I loved this book. Even though Charles Spencers main claim to fame was his beloved sister Diana, this book barely mentions her and it is just as well. The Spencers are an amazing study in history as well as as interesting as movie or personality today.The tapestry of this family is woven so well, every event comes to life, and the pictures are an added plus.There are so many levels to this book it was hard to put down. I loved every second of it! If you are a fan of history , especially English history this one is a keeper!
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating history of an English aristocratic family
Review: The Spencers is without a doubt one of the best books I have read to date. Written by the Ninth Earl Spencer, Charles, this book provides an illuminating glimpse into the history of his and his late sister Diana's antecedents that goes all the way back to the 11th century and one Robert Despenser, steward to William of Normandy. The thing I like most about this book is that Earl Spencer pulls no punches with regard to the less admirable members of his family, but at the same time, he does not indulge himself in the scandalous gossip-mongering style of writing that seems to be favored by tabloid journalists and tell-all writers the world over. Instead, he gives the reader the plain, unvarnished truth, without according any special treatment to any of his family. All in all, The Spencers is a very good and refreshingly honest look at the history of one aristocratic family, written by one of their own. I highly recommend this book for any who are interested in studying English nobility.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating history of an English aristocratic family
Review: The Spencers is without a doubt one of the best books I have read to date. Written by the Ninth Earl Spencer, Charles, this book provides an illuminating glimpse into the history of his and his late sister Diana's antecedents that goes all the way back to the 11th century and one Robert Despenser, steward to William of Normandy. The thing I like most about this book is that Earl Spencer pulls no punches with regard to the less admirable members of his family, but at the same time, he does not indulge himself in the scandalous gossip-mongering style of writing that seems to be favored by tabloid journalists and tell-all writers the world over. Instead, he gives the reader the plain, unvarnished truth, without according any special treatment to any of his family. All in all, The Spencers is a very good and refreshingly honest look at the history of one aristocratic family, written by one of their own. I highly recommend this book for any who are interested in studying English nobility.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor scholarship
Review: This book is a history of the Spencer family as told by a member of that family-namely Charles, 9th Earl Spencer. It should be noted that Spencer has an obvious bias when it comes to writing a book on his family, so don't trust all he says, and read the primary sources. I read this book just a few weeks ago, and while it was an interesting read (because of the subject matter) it was a frusturating one as well (because of the lack of sources). I majored in history and recently graduated from a prestigous Southern university, and can tell you that this is not a thoroughly researched book. There are no notes, a very slim bibliography, and Spencer deos not use references. For example he quotes from Amanda Foreman's book "Georgiana: The Duchess of Devonshire", yet he does not give a page number from where the suppossed quote comes from. This is not an isolated case. Claiming that he got a degree in modern history from Magdalen College, Oxford (see back jacket), Spencer is already set to a higher standard than other historians-for he is Oxford trained. Magdalen College should feel embrassed by this work of Spencer's. As for genealogists I would steer clear of this book-how can you trust someone who cannot show us his references?
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but self-serving book...
Review: This book is not the one to read if you want a serious, well-researched book about one of England's great aristocratic families (although hardly the greatest or the oldest or the most historic). For that, try Georgina Battiscombe's book, which has been out-of-print, although that focuses more on post-1700 Spencers. First of all, do *not* trust the early genealogy as presented in this book. Lord Spencer clearly buys into the family history presented to his ancestors by 16th century heralds, and warmly espoused by his grandfather, the irascible but family-proud 7th Earl. It is true that the Spencers - and many others - are descended from the ancient Le Despencer family (but only through many women), and it is not true that the Spencers can claim a direct male-to-male descent from that family. [Come to think of that - the Le Despencers had such a nasty reputation in the reign of Edward II and Edward III, why would anyone want to claim a descent from them?]. The Spencers are the junior branch of the family that now holds the dukedom of Marlborough (yes, Sir Winston was a cousin), because the 1st Duke died leaving only daughters. By Act of Parliament, the present Earl Spencer is thus in remainder to the dukedom. The 1st Earl Spencer is in fact the son of the younger brother of the 3rd Duke of Marlborough who was a Spencer (his descendants changed their name to Spencer-Churchill or Churchill). I think that a good book is possible about the history of the Spencer family, or about the more interesting women in this family. However, the Earl's book is not the place for this. It is a pity because some of the characters are truly interesting, including Lady Lyttleton (governess to Queen Victoria's elder children). The greatest Earls Spencer - the 3rd and the 5th Earl - both died childless unfortunately. The 3rd Earl was a prominent Whig in the early 1800s. I would have liked to have seen more about the political involvement of the Spencer family over the centuries and how it waned and waxed. I would also have liked to have seen more of the earlier Spencers, including those Spencer daughters who married well (as early as the late 1500s) and thus allied this family to other more powerful families - and in doing so, raised its profile at court and in Parliament. This unfortunately is not the book for that, or for an analysis of the development of the famed art collection or the rest of the family fortune. Nor is a place where the Earl speculates seriously about the future of his family (he and his son, and an elderly uncle, are the only males in the Spencer family).
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but self-serving book...
Review: This book is not the one to read if you want a serious, well-researched book about one of England's great aristocratic families (although hardly the greatest or the oldest or the most historic). For that, try Georgina Battiscombe's book, which has been out-of-print, although that focuses more on post-1700 Spencers. First of all, do *not* trust the early genealogy as presented in this book. Lord Spencer clearly buys into the family history presented to his ancestors by 16th century heralds, and warmly espoused by his grandfather, the irascible but family-proud 7th Earl. It is true that the Spencers - and many others - are descended from the ancient Le Despencer family (but only through many women), and it is not true that the Spencers can claim a direct male-to-male descent from that family. [Come to think of that - the Le Despencers had such a nasty reputation in the reign of Edward II and Edward III, why would anyone want to claim a descent from them?]. The Spencers are the junior branch of the family that now holds the dukedom of Marlborough (yes, Sir Winston was a cousin), because the 1st Duke died leaving only daughters. By Act of Parliament, the present Earl Spencer is thus in remainder to the dukedom. The 1st Earl Spencer is in fact the son of the younger brother of the 3rd Duke of Marlborough who was a Spencer (his descendants changed their name to Spencer-Churchill or Churchill). I think that a good book is possible about the history of the Spencer family, or about the more interesting women in this family. However, the Earl's book is not the place for this. It is a pity because some of the characters are truly interesting, including Lady Lyttleton (governess to Queen Victoria's elder children). The greatest Earls Spencer - the 3rd and the 5th Earl - both died childless unfortunately. The 3rd Earl was a prominent Whig in the early 1800s. I would have liked to have seen more about the political involvement of the Spencer family over the centuries and how it waned and waxed. I would also have liked to have seen more of the earlier Spencers, including those Spencer daughters who married well (as early as the late 1500s) and thus allied this family to other more powerful families - and in doing so, raised its profile at court and in Parliament. This unfortunately is not the book for that, or for an analysis of the development of the famed art collection or the rest of the family fortune. Nor is a place where the Earl speculates seriously about the future of his family (he and his son, and an elderly uncle, are the only males in the Spencer family).
Rating:
Summary: a great book by my uncle
Review: This book, written by Charles Spencer, brother of Princess Diana, is a fascinating history of his Spencer family ancestors in England, from the earliest beginnings at the time of the Norman conquest in 1066 A.D., until the current generation, which is mentioned only briefly, with very little discussion of his sister Diana. There are interesting portrayals of many notable ancestors, male and female, lords and ladies, both saints and sinners, soldiers and sailors, politicians and players, with many quotations from old letters written by his ancestors, or about his ancestors. The photograph section contains color reproductions of portrait paintings of a few ancestors. The book also includes a genealogy chart. The book is enjoyable to read, and would doubtless be of interest to anglophile history readers. The book is well written; however, I would wish for better reference citations of his sources. The earliest history of the Spencer family seems to be taken from an old Peerage book, but is ascribed to his grandfather's knowledge. See also my other reviews at Amazon.
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous Scholarship!
Review: Those of us who remember when Lady Diana Spencer got engaged to Prince Charles may recall news commentators mentioning her baby brother, a college student then nicknamed "Champagne Charlie." Well, Champagne Charlie has grown up and, with the death of his father, he has become Earl Spencer of Althrop. Youthful pranks behind him, he now evidences his fine education and his excellent mind. Admittedly, it must be easier to be fascinated by a family with a millennium-long and distinguished history when that family is your own. Nor has it ever been disputed that the Spencers have been in England longer than the current royal family, the Windsors, by at least seven centuries. So it turns out that the one link, the most compelling link for contemporary readers, to the much-loved Princess of Wales is only the most recent chapter in an important story. At no moment in the last millennium was there ever an event in English history in which a Spencer did not play a major role, including Sir Winston Churchill, whose family name actually was "Spencer Churchill." In THE SPENCERS, without ever stating this explicitly, Charles Spencer makes it clear that the Windsors, with their Hanoverian/ Saxe-Coburg/ Battenberg family history, chose poor Diana precisely to provide Prince Charles' offspring, including any future kings he might sire, with a true English heritage. That being said, anyone buying this book in the hopes of getting some inside information about the late Princess of Wales is going to be disappointed. She is relegated to a single paragraph on the final page. This is much to Earl Spencer's credit; it would be distasteful to see him try to exploit his sister's memory for simple profit. And there are plenty of other books, tawdry books, which do just that. If Charles Spencer's goal was to demonstrate that there is much more to Spencer family history than merely the obsession with his poor sister, he proves that he is entitled to this thesis. By temperment, intellect and education, he seems to have been the perfect choice to have written this book. And if he seems, at times, a bit proud...well, he's entitled. The Spencers have a important background, a background about which Earl Spencer writes lyrically. THE SPENCERS will be valuable to students of history for its view of an entire millennium as seen through the prism of a single family's experience.
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