Blood Royal: The Story of the Spencers and the Royals

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.

Biographies & Memoirs

Pearson, John

Historical

Harpercollins Pub, Ltd.

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.

History

Europe

The classic, bestselling account of the infamous Kray twins, now a major film, starring Tom Hardy.Reggie and Ronnie Kray ruled London’s gangland during the 60s with a ruthlessness and viciousness that shocks even now. Building an empire of organised crime that has never been matched, the brothers swindled, extorted and terrorised – while enjoying a glittering celebrity status at the heart of the swinging 60s scene, until their downfall and imprisonment for life.

The Profession of Violence

True Crime

William Collins

The classic, bestselling account of the infamous Kray twins, now a major film, starring Tom Hardy.
Reggie and Ronnie Kray ruled London’s gangland during the 60s with a ruthlessness and viciousness that shocks even now. Building an empire of organised crime that has never been matched, the brothers swindled, extorted and terrorised – while enjoying a glittering celebrity status at the heart of the swinging 60s scene, until their downfall and imprisonment for life.

The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins

Arts & Literature

When sixteen-year-old Paul Getty was kidnapped, the news exploded worldwide. But his grandfather, J. Paul Getty, the richest living American, refused to pay the ransom, oblivious to his sufferings. And as the days dragged painfully on, it was Paul's distraught but determined mother Gail who was left to negotiate with his captors...

All the Money in the World

Leaders & Notable People

Inspired by the fortunes and misfortunes of the Getty family, whose most extraordinary and troubled episode – the kidnap and ransom of grandson Paul Getty – is now a major motion picture, directed by Ridley Scott, from a screenplay written by David Scarpa and starring Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer and Mark Wahlberg.
When sixteen-year-old Paul Getty was kidnapped, the news exploded worldwide. But his grandfather, J. Paul Getty, the richest living American, refused to pay the ransom, oblivious to his sufferings. And as the days dragged painfully on, it was Paul’s distraught but determined mother Gail who was left to negotiate with his captors…
In this full biography of the Getty family, John Pearson traces the creation of their phenomenal wealth and the ways in which it has touched and tainted the lives of various generations. Packed with colourful characters, bitter feuds and unexpected turns, it is a riveting insight into the lives of the super-rich.
Previously published as Painfully Rich.
Motion Picture Artwork ©2017 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.

The Serpent And The Stag - The Cavendish family, who became the Dukes of Devonshire, not only have been at the center of English political and cultural life for more than four centuries but also were often remarkable figures in their own right. Some were as magnificent as the stag, others as cautious as the serpent, the beast that appear on the crest of the Devonshire arms. In this vivid, full scale, multiple biography, John Pearson tells their story with immense panache."" Hard cover in very good condition. Text block clean and tight. No markings noted. Dust jacket in very good condition, shows light age toning at edges. First American Edition.

The serpent and the Stag: The Saga of England's Powerful and Glamourous Cavendish Family from the Age of Henry the Eighth to the Present

HOLT. RINEHART AND WINSTON

In the Year AD 80 the Colosseum opened with quite the longest and most nauseating organized mass orgy in history. It was a mammoth celebration on the grandest scale, a fitting inauguration for an arena built to epitomize all the majesty and power of the Roman Empire, a building which also held the seeds of that Empire's decay and destruction. As well as his vivid account of the erection of the Colosseum, Mr Pearson discusses the origins of death spectacles and their evolution into highly organized games intended to enhance imperial prestige and provide the populace with an effective substitute for politics and war. 'Butchered to make a Roman holiday', the victims of this lust for slaughter were slaves and criminals, the human surplus of their day, coached for an almost certain death. One chapter highlights the perverted death-wish of many early would-be martyrs and decisively establishes that there is no evidence for the death of a single Christian martyr in the Colosseum. The book concludes with a brief survey of the building's subsequent history; looted and despoiled yet still the embodiment of Rome's spirit and greatness, it became a sublime romantic ruin, now exposed by slum-clearance as a gigantic traffic island. Mr Pearson is acutely aware of the violence that was endemic in Roman society, and in his shrewd analysis he draws disturbing parallels with the twentieth-century situation.

Arena: the story of the Colosseum

McGraw=Hill

Notorious: The Immortal Legend of the Kray Twins

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Arrow

Pearson, John, Edward the Rake: An Unwholesome Biography of Edward VII

Edward the rake: An unwholesome biography of Edward VII

Harcourt, Brace. Jovanovich

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Pearson, John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Pearson, John

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Pearson, John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Blood Royal: The Story of the Spencers and the Royals

Blood Royal: The Story of the Spencers and the Royals

The Profession of Violence

The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins

All the Money in the World

All the Money in the World

The serpent and the Stag: The Saga of England's Powerful and Glamourous Cavendish Family from the Age of Henry the Eighth to the Present

Arena: the story of the Colosseum

Notorious: The Immortal Legend of the Kray Twins

Edward the rake: An unwholesome biography of Edward VII