THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA Times, Spectator and Waterstones Book of the Year'Shocking and moving' Guardian'Top marks for its searing frankness, framed in wistfully beautiful prose’ The TimesAt eight years of age, Charles Spencer was sent away to one of England's most England's most exclusive boarding schools. Here he reveals the strange secrets of the...

THE #2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER‘As gripping as any thriller. History doesn't get any better than this’ BILL BRYSON ’A brilliant read … Game of Thrones but in the real world’ ANTHONY HOROWITZPICKED AS A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 BY THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, THE GUARDIAN, THE DAILY MAIL AND THE DAILY EXPRESS.The sinking of the White Ship in 1120 is one of the greatest disasters England has ever...

THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA Times, Spectator and Waterstones Book of the Year'Shocking and moving' Guardian'Top marks for its searing frankness, framed in wistfully beautiful prose’ The TimesAt eight years of age, Charles Spencer was sent away to one of England's most England's most exclusive boarding schools. Here he reveals the strange secrets of the...

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. Su...

Charles Spencer tells the shocking stories and fascinating fates of the men who signed Charles I's death warrant in this Sunday Times bestseller'Seamless, pacy and riveting ... exceptional' ALISON WEIR'The virtues of a thriller and of scholarship are potently combined' TOM HOLLAND'Outstanding: a thrilling tale of retribution and bloody sacrifice' JESSIE CHILDS__________________...

THE #2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER‘As gripping as any thriller. History doesn't get any better than this’ BILL BRYSON ’A brilliant read … Game of Thrones but in the real world’ ANTHONY HOROWITZPICKED AS A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 BY THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, THE GUARDIAN, THE DAILY MAIL AND THE DAILY EXPRESS.The sinking of the White Ship in 1120 is one of the greatest disasters England has ever...

The definitive history of one of England’s greatest houses: Althorp, where for five hundred years the Spencer family have made their home.Charles Spencer’s house of Althorp in Northamptonshire is where he and his sister Princess Diana grew up, and where she is buried. In this rich history, Spencer traces the house’s life from the sixteenth century through to Charles’ sleepless nights there as a child and the estate’s transformation into a site of global mourning. H...

A brilliant history of Prince Rupert of the Rhine from his penniless start, becoming a soldier in his teenage years, up to his life as King Charles I’s most famous and spectacular general.Born in Prague in 1619, Prince Rupert was set for a life of enormous privilege but when his father, Frederick V, lost his crown Rupert’s family were left with just eight years to flee Prague – they hastened to safety, but left the infant Rupert behind. He was discovered in a final...

A WARREN OF WEIRD AND WONDERFUL FACTS AND TALES RESCUED FROM OBSCURITYRead the first trivia book from the team behind the hit history podcast The Rabbit Hole Detectives, investigating the provenance of historical objects, real and metaphorical, with intelligence and humour'Compulsively dip-in-able' The Times----Ever fallen down a rabbit hole?Ever got lost chasing a fact, a hunch or a curious...

In the summer of 1704, French conquest seemed inevitable. In this bestselling history, Charles Spencer traces the story of how it was prevented.This is an epic history of how, as Louis the Great’s armies threatened total domination of Europe, poised to extend their frontier and install a French prince on the throne of Spain, two men came together with a daring plan to shut him down.John Churchill, Duke of Malborough masterminded the campaign, while Prince E...

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. Su...

This title from Charles Spencer recounts the history of Edisto Island from the Civil War to present day. The Civil War hit Edisto Island hard. Between the mandated evacuation, Union occupation and the eventual emancipation of the slaves, the cotton plantation economy that had sustained the island fell to ruin. But this phoenix was to rise from the ashes of war to become one of the premier destinations for fun and sun on the South Carolina coast. Charles Spencer, in his second volume of Edi...