An insider's history of the Spencer family, this book tells the family's story from the sheepfarmers of the 16th 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. In the last chapter, Charles Spencer writes about his own views of the family's history and what hopes he has for the future.

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER | NPR “BOOKS WE LOVE” 2024 | PEOPLE’S “BEST CELEBRITY MEMOIRS” 2024 | TOWN & COUNTRY’S “BEST NEW ROYAL BOOKS” 2024 | THE TIMES (LONDON) “10 BEST BIOGRAPHIES AND MEMOIRS” 2024 | WINNIPEG FREE PRESS’S “BEST BOOKS” 2024 “A tour de force.” —The Washington Post In this poignant memoir, Charles Spencer recounts the trauma of being sent away from home at age eight to attend boarding school. A Very Private School offers a clear-eyed, first-hand account of a culture of cruelty at the school Charles Spencer attended in his youth and provides important insights into an antiquated boarding system. Drawing on the memories of many of his schoolboy contemporaries, as well as his own letters and diaries from the time, he reflects on the hopelessness and abandonment he felt at aged eight, viscerally describing the intense pain of homesickness and the appalling inescapability of it all. Exploring the long-lasting impact of his experiences, Spencer presents a candid reckoning with his past and a reclamation of his childhood.

On August 18, 1648, with no relief from the siege in sight, the royalist garrison holding Colchester Castle surrendered and Oliver Cromwell's army firmly ended the rule of Charles I of England. To send a clear message to the fallen monarch, the rebels executed four of the senior officers captured at the castle. Yet still the king refused to accept he had lost the war. As France and other allies mobilized in support of Charles, a tribunal was hastily gathered and a death sentence was passed. On January 30, 1649, the King of England was executed. This is the account of the fifty-nine regicides, the men who signed Charles I's death warrant. Recounting a little-known corner of British history, Charles Spencer explores what happened when the Restoration arrived. From George Downing, the chief plotter, to Richard Ingoldsby, who claimed he was forced to sign his name by his cousin Oliver Cromwell, and from those who returned to the monarchist cause and betrayed their fellow regicides to those that fled the country in an attempt to escape their punishment, Spencer examines the long-lasting, far-reaching consequences not only for those who signed the warrant, but also for those who were present at the trial, and for England itself. A powerful tale of revenge from the dark heart of England's past, and a unique contribution to seventeenth-century history, Killers of the King tells the incredible story of the men who dared to assassinate a monarch.

How did the most wanted man in the country outwit the greatest manhunt in British history? In January 1649, King Charles I was beheaded in London outside his palace of Whitehall and Britain became a republic. When his eldest son, Charles, returned in 1651 to fight for his throne, he was crushed by the might of Cromwell's armies at the battle of Worcester. With 3,000 of his supporters lying dead and 10,000 taken prisoner, it seemed as if his dreams of power had been dashed. Surely it was a foregone conclusion that he would now be caught and follow his father to the block? At six foot two inches tall, the prince towered over his contemporaries and with dark skin inherited from his French-Italian mother, he stood out in a crowd. How would he fare on the run with Cromwell's soldiers on his tail and a vast price on his head? The next six weeks would form the most memorable and dramatic of Charles' life. Pursued relentlessly, Charles ran using disguise, deception and relying on grit, fortitude and good luck. He suffered grievously through weeks when his cause seemed hopeless. He hid in an oak tree - an event so fabled that over 400 English pubs are named Royal Oak in commemoration. Less well-known events include his witnessing a village in wild celebrations at the erroneous news of his killing; the ordeal of a medical student wrongly imprisoned because of his similarity in looks; he disguised himself as a servant and as one half of an eloping couple. Once restored to the throne as Charles II, he told the tale of his escapades to Samuel Pepys, who transcribed it all. In this gripping, action-packed, true adventure story, based on extensive archive material, Charles Spencer, bestselling author of Killers of the King, uses Pepys's account and many others to retell this epic adventure.

Princess Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, offers an intimate look at the family's home--Althorp--where she first met Prince Charles. Full-color photos.

For Will Benson, life on Theatre World has its compensations, although they are mostly to be found in the nicely rounded shape of Kim, the chief sub-editor. But there are drawbacks, too: the Wednesday morning hangovers after the Tuesday night sessions at the typesetters; stroppy Martha, receptionist from hell; Colin the odious star reporter; having to review fat-headed avant-garde productions of Romeo and Juliet in smelly Cambden Town basements. And, of course, the death threats. Somewhere out there is Will's own personal psychotic, who is really very displeased with him, and pretty handy with a crossbow into the bargain. It's not all that easy to work out who it is, either, as the list of candidates starts to grow alarmingly. Does getting drunk and handing your girlfriend a few home truths really warrant this kind of reaction? Or stumbling on a loudmouth comic's dirty little secret? In his amateurish attempts to stay alive Will lumbers from posh West End crush bars to suburban roadhouses, where they hold Talent Nites and wet T-shirt contests, from the antiseptic pleasures of the Docklands Light Railway to the wild thrills of the Big Dipper, while Kim turns out to be helpful in all sorts of amusing and stimulating ways. Fast-paced and funny, with a vivid sense of place and sharply drawn characters, I Nearly Died is Charles Spencer's vastly entertaining debut novel.

For Will Benson, life cannot get much worse. Cuckolded, overweight, and in career meltdown he is at his lowest ebb. Attempting to concentrate on his column in the shambolic trade rag, Theatre World, through a fog of lunchtime drinking he recalls wistfully his halcyon days as a cub reporter when life was all so different. Baccanalian romps in the countryside, illicit trysts, shared secrets; the world was his for the taking. But when then past comes knocking at Will's door, the reality is suddenly far removed from his memories. His old friend Nicholas is dying, and Henry - Will's youthful hero - has stolen a valuable Vermeer painting and is on the run. Impelled to track Henry down, Will reluctantly takes up the trail. But Henry has always been a slippery customer and along the way Will must endure an Oxford Gaudy, a bizarre heavy metal gig and the worst dentist in the world before the full extent of Henry's Machiavellian plans are revealed . . .