Margins
Blood Royal book cover
Blood Royal
The Story of the Spencers and the Royals
1999
First Published
3.66
Average Rating
320
Number of Pages
The Spencers, like the Windsors, are a dynasty, and one of the most successful families that England has produced. But how did a family of Tudor sheep farmers from Northamptonshire reach the ranks of the upper aristocracy by the time of the Restoration, and how did they then continue to consolidate their great position at the apex of society through the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries? The Spencers have quietly adapted from one generation to the next, sweeping up heiresses and magnificent estates, buying great libraries and pictures, then building London's most beautiful palladian mansion to house them. Family characteristics emerge, as do family traditions and attitudes to life. And, by the zenith of the eighteenth century, almost everyone who is anyone in politics seems to be related to this overwhelming family.
Avg Rating
3.66
Number of Ratings
32
5 STARS
16%
4 STARS
41%
3 STARS
38%
2 STARS
6%
1 STARS
0%
goodreads

Author

John George Pearson
Author · 15 books

John Pearson is a writer best associated with James Bond creator Ian Fleming. He was Fleming's assistant at the London Sunday Times and would go on to write the first biography of Ian Fleming, 1966's The Life of Ian Fleming. Pearson also wrote "true-crime" biographies, such as The Profession of Violence: an East End gang story about the rise and fall of the Kray twins. Pearson would also become the third official James Bond author of the adult-Bond series, writing in 1973 James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007, a first-person biography of the fictional agent James Bond. Although the canonical nature of this book has been debated by Bond fans since it was published, it was officially authorised by Glidrose Publications, the official publisher of the James Bond chronicles. Glidrose reportedly considered commissioning Pearson to write a new series of Bond novels in the 1970s, but nothing came of this. Pearson was commissioned by Donald Campbell to chronicle his successful attempt on the Land Speed Record in 1964 in Bluebird CN7, resulting in the book Bluebird and the Dead Lake. Pearson wrote the non-fiction book, The Gamblers, an account about the group of gamblers who made up, what was known as the Clermont Set, which included John Aspinall, James Goldsmith and Lord Lucan. The film rights to the book were purchased by Warner Bros. in 2006. He also wrote Façades, the first full-scale biography of the literary Sitwell siblings, Edith, Osbert and Sacheverell, published in 1978. Pearson has also written five novels: Gone To Timbuctoo (1962) - winner of the Author's Club First Novel Award James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007 (1973) The Bellamy Saga (1976) Biggles: The Authorized Biography (1978) The Kindness of Dr. Avicenna (1982).

548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
© 2025 Paratext Inc. All rights reserved