A Woman of Influence
The Spectacular Rise of Alice Spencer in Tudor England
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- £7.99
Publisher Description
This “engrossing, fast-paced, extremely well-researched biography” (Booklist) transports us to Tudor and Stuart England as Alice Spencer, the daughter of an upstart sheep farmer, becomes one of the most powerful women in the country and establishes a powerful dynasty that endures to this day. Perfect for fans of The Duchess Countess and Georgiana.
Alice Spencer was born in 1560 to a family on the rise. Her grandfather had amassed a sizeable estate of fertile grazing land and made a small fortune in sheep farming, allowing him to purchase a simple but distinguished manor house called Althorp.
With her sizable dowry, Alice married the heir to one of the most powerful aristocratic families in the country, eventually becoming the Countess of Derby. Though she enjoyed modest renown, it wasn’t until her husband’s sudden death (after he turned in a group of Catholics for plotting against Queen Elizabeth I) that Alice and her family’s future changed forever.
Faced with a lawsuit from her brother-in-law over her late husband’s fortune, Alice raised eyebrows by marrying England’s most powerful lawyer. Together, they were victorious, and Alice focused her attentions on securing appropriate husbands for her daughters, increasing her land ownings, and securing a bright future for her grandchildren and the entire Spencer family. But they would not completely escape scandals, and as the matriarch, Alice had to face an infamous trial that threatened everything she had worked so hard for.
Now, in “this riveting tale reads more like a legal thriller than historical nonfiction” (Beth Morrison, coauthor of The Lawless Land), the full story of the remarkable Alice Spencer Stanley Egerton is revealed. A woman both ahead of and part of her time, Alice’s ruthless challenging of the status quo has inspired future generations of Spencers and will change the way you view Tudor women.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this engrossing and well-researched debut, historian Wilkie spotlights one of Princess Diana's most remarkable female ancestors. Born into a family of prosperous sheep farmers determined to ascend to the aristocracy, Alice Spencer (1559–1637) wed Ferdinando Stanley, the fifth Earl of Derby. She and Ferdinando, who enjoyed an affectionate relationship, established themselves as patrons of the arts, becoming fixtures "in the vibrant literary and theatrical outpouring that was thriving in England at the time." After Ferdinando's death in 1594, his brother William challenged the will, and Alice spent years fighting to hold on to the property her husband bequeathed her. She prevailed because of her careful attention to legal and financial matters and because she made a strategic second marriage in 1600, to Thomas Egerton, a well-connected lawyer. Thomas died in 1617, leaving Alice a tremendously wealthy widow, and she used her fortune to prepare her 20 grandchildren to continue the family dynasty. She also put her power to use in the early 1630s, when she obtained royal pardons for her daughter, Anne, and granddaughter, Elizabeth, after Anne's second husband, Mervyn Touchet, Earl of Castlehaven, was executed for sodomy and rape. Wilkie writes with focus and economy, weaving in fascinating information about Tudor-era nuptial contracts, medical practices, and dynastic intrigues. This biography fascinates.
