A Woman of Influence

The Spectacular Rise of Alice Spencer in Tudor England

By: Vanessa Wilkie

Narrated by: Imogen Church

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.

Critic reviews

"Imogen Church does an exceptional job narrating this absorbing biography of a lesser-known yet no-less-colorful woman in Tudor England...Church delivers her narration in a strong, clear voice, a voice one might imagine the Countess using. A first-rate biography and a superbly detailed cultural history of the Tudor era, this audiobook is a pleasure to listen to."

Outstanding Performance

Enjoyable and insightful story, and one of the best performances of a nonfiction audiobook I’ve ever heard!

Excellent book on Spencer and the time period

What I liked most about this book is that it is honest, nuanced, and allows the reader to understand the whole of Alice Spencer’s personality — both positive and negative. Wilkie explains quite effectively how those qualities allowed Spencer to successfully navigate through English society and also what the drawbacks were to members of her family. Along the way, Wilkie paints a rich picture of the time period — including the royal courts of two monarchs, the legal system, and the patronage of well-known authors and artists of the time. Her skill at storytelling allows her to go in-depth with certain details yet keep the book accessible to a broad audience.