A Woman of Influence: The Spectacular Rise of Alice Spencer in Tudor England

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. (Apr.)