- Publisher: Constable
- Year: 2022
- Format: Hardback
- Pages: 336pp
- Illustrated: Yes
- Dimensions: 240x162mm
- Condition: New
- Weight: 0.6kg
- ISBN: 9780349134826
- Product code: 538648
Three Times a Countess
The Extraordinary Life and Times of Raine Spencer
Tina Gaudoin New Hardback Illustrated
Postscript summary
Raine Spencer (1929–2016) was a controversial figure throughout her life. This sympathetic biography follows her eccentric upbringing as the daughter of the romantic novelist Barbara Cartland; her marriages, first to the Earl of Dartmouth and then to Earl Spencer; and her career as a Westminster councillor and on the board of Harrods while also shedding light on her volatile relationship with her stepdaughter Diana, Princess of Wales.
Product information
Full publisher description
TELEGRAPH 50 BEST BOOKS OF 2022
'A sparkling biography of a fascinating woman' - Lynn Barber, Telegraph *****
'Gaudoin's book is revealing and hugely entertaining. Highly recommended.' - Daily Mail
'Gaudoin tells these delicious stories with brio' - Sunday Times
Debutante of the year. Able politician. Femme fatale. Just some of the many labels attached to the irrepressible, controversial Raine Spencer: Countess, socialite and stepmother to Diana, Princess of Wales. But who was the real Raine? What was hidden behind the immaculately manicured public facade and her overwhelmingly negative tabloid image?
From her childhood days as daughter of romantic novelist powerhouse, Barbara Cartland, to Westminster councillor and wife of Earl Spencer, Three Times a Countess recounts Raine's compelling and glamorous life, revealing her to be a powerful, accomplished woman who, after a tumultuous relationship, reconciled with Diana to become the Princess's closest confidante and a key witness at the inquest into her death.
To her friends, Raine was shrewd, intelligent, witty and loyal; to her enemies, pushy, overly flamboyant and ruthless. From a career spanning local politics to dealing with the fortunes of Althorp; from taking on the Spencer family estate to her final role as a board member at Harrods, Raine's life was, by any standards, a success . Yet she could not sway the powerful media narrative which pitted her as 'the evil stepmother' at every turn.
A societal whirl of London Seasons, family feuds, politics, pomp and 'big hair', Gaudoin's vibrant history of the Countess sets the record straight once and for all, drawing insight from those who knew Raine most. Three Times a Countess reveals a sophisticated, determined woman whose loyalty knew no bounds and whose cache of secrets would have worried even the most upright of royals.
'A sparkling biography of a fascinating woman' - Lynn Barber, Telegraph *****
'Gaudoin's book is revealing and hugely entertaining. Highly recommended.' - Daily Mail
'Gaudoin tells these delicious stories with brio' - Sunday Times
Debutante of the year. Able politician. Femme fatale. Just some of the many labels attached to the irrepressible, controversial Raine Spencer: Countess, socialite and stepmother to Diana, Princess of Wales. But who was the real Raine? What was hidden behind the immaculately manicured public facade and her overwhelmingly negative tabloid image?
From her childhood days as daughter of romantic novelist powerhouse, Barbara Cartland, to Westminster councillor and wife of Earl Spencer, Three Times a Countess recounts Raine's compelling and glamorous life, revealing her to be a powerful, accomplished woman who, after a tumultuous relationship, reconciled with Diana to become the Princess's closest confidante and a key witness at the inquest into her death.
To her friends, Raine was shrewd, intelligent, witty and loyal; to her enemies, pushy, overly flamboyant and ruthless. From a career spanning local politics to dealing with the fortunes of Althorp; from taking on the Spencer family estate to her final role as a board member at Harrods, Raine's life was, by any standards, a success . Yet she could not sway the powerful media narrative which pitted her as 'the evil stepmother' at every turn.
A societal whirl of London Seasons, family feuds, politics, pomp and 'big hair', Gaudoin's vibrant history of the Countess sets the record straight once and for all, drawing insight from those who knew Raine most. Three Times a Countess reveals a sophisticated, determined woman whose loyalty knew no bounds and whose cache of secrets would have worried even the most upright of royals.
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538648
Three Times a Countess
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/Non-Fiction/Categories/Biography & Memoirs
/Non-Fiction/Categories/Biography & Memoirs/Biographies
/History/Categories/Women's History
Raine Spencer (1929–2016) was a controversial figure throughout her life. This sympathetic biography follows her eccentric upbringing as the daughter of the romantic novelist Barbara Cartland; her marriages, first to the Earl of Dartmouth and then to Earl Spencer; and her career as a Westminster councillor and on the board of Harrods while also shedding light on her volatile relationship with her stepdaughter Diana, Princess of Wales.
Hardback
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Tina Gaudoin
General
240x162mm
Constable
No
Hardback
