Swan-Song-by-Charles-Spencer

Extracts

‘It was her character that came alight’: read an extract from Swan Song by Charles Spencer

99 adventures into the history of stuff

The Rabbit Hole Book

Whatever you think you know about history… think again! 
 
The first trivia book from the team behind the hit history podcast The Rabbit Hole Detectives, investigating the provenance of historical objects, real and metaphorical, with intelligence and humour 
'Compulsively dip-in-able' The Times 
 
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Ever fallen down a rabbit hole? Ever got lost chasing a fact, a hunch or a curious piece of cultural ephemera? 
 
Then the Rabbit Hole Detectives – Richard Coles, Cat Jarman and Charles Spencer – are here to do the burrowing for you. 
 
Why were eight WWII Hurricane fighter planes buried in Ukraine? 
 
What have chimpanzees to do with the invention of toilet paper? 
 
How many dynamite sticks should not be used to blow up a whale? 
 
Which ancient civilisation liked a short tongue and a shaved head? 
 
The Rabbit Hole Book follows Richard, Cat and Charles as they investigate and elucidate weird and wonderful curiosities from history, telling stories that are as often dumbfounding as they are gripping, as unexpected as they are hilarious or deeply moving. 
 
What are you waiting for? 
 
Welcome to the warren . . .Whatever you think you know, guess again.

I'd be amazed if you found none of the chapters interesting. My own curiosity gland was tickled by many of the entries

Richard Coles (Author) The Reverend Richard Coles is a writer, presenter and Church of England clergyman. He is the only vicar in Britain to have had a number-one hit single and appear on Strictly Come Dancing. Richard Coles is the author of the bestselling Murder Before Evensong mystery. Cat Jarman (Author) Professor Cat Jarman is a bioarchaeologist and field archaeologist and the bestselling author of River Kings and The Bone Chests. She is also a historical adviser for museums and an experienced public speaker who frequently shares her expertise on BBC radio, podcasts, and TV. Professor Jarman's research has been covered by print and online news outlets internationally. Charles Spencer (Author) Charles Spencer is an author, historian, public speaker, broadcaster and journalist. He is also the 9th Earl Spencer. Spencer is the author of nine non-fiction books, including four Sunday Times bestsellers. A globally in-demand keynote speaker, he worked for NBC News as an on-air correspondent from 1986 to 1995. He has presented for the History Channel, was a co-host of the hit Rabbit Hole Detectives podcast, and has written for many newspapers and magazines. He is a columnist for the Financial Times. 
 
 
Spencer was educated at Eton College, and at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he obtained his MA in Modern History. 
 
 
He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

Join the trio behind the hit history podcast, The Rabbit Hole Detectives, Richard Coles, Charles Spencer and Cat Jarman in their first trivia book as they investigate weird and wonderful facts and stories rescued from obscurity. From the earliest recorded examples of practical jokes to a whistle-stop tour of the world's ghost towns to a history of red heads, The Rabbit Hole Book is a fascinating and entertaining dive into all the things you didn't know you wanted to know.

Charles Spencer

Head-spinning, fascinating, truly touching, devastating. A portrait of Diana that is affectionate, sad, and lovely

Explosive, devastating, astonishing, extraordinary

Compelling, fascinating, a solemn act of brotherly devotion

A poignant, honest portrayal . . . and one that will endure

Credible and candid and vitally it re-centres Diana, whom the Palace have been wiping from national memory for many years. I was moved to tears

A brotherly tribute to the People’s Princess, no holds barred . . . Full of love and vengeance

Charles Spencer was there for all this history, indelibly present in one of the most iconic tableaux of the late 20th century. After holding back for so long, his memoir finally tells us what it was like

Diana, my sister

Beautiful. Beloved. Hunted. The extraordinary life and death of Diana, as told by her brother, Charles. 
 
‘When asked, ‘What was it like, growing up with Diana?’, my first thought is always, But I don’t know what it was like not to grow up with her…’ 
 
In September 1997, Charles Spencer stood in Westminster Abbey before a watching world and shared his grief at losing his beloved sister, Diana. Now, nearly thirty years later, he tells the astonishing story of his life with Diana and the tragic week of her death. 
 
In childhood, Charles and Diana, the youngest Spencers, were inseparable – secretly calling one another Duch and Carlos. As each other’s closest confidantes, they roamed the family estate, endured extremely challenging boarding schools, survived terrifying nannies and helped each other through the agony of their parents’ divorce. 
 
Yet everything changed when Diana married the Prince of Wales, now King Charles III, and overnight became a global icon. Charles saw his older sister serve the world’s marginalized and relish being mother to her treasured sons. 
 
But, pursued by a barbaric press as her royal marriage crumbled, she was left desperately alone. Charles always tried to be there for Diana – until that black night in August, 1997. 
 
In Swan Song, Charles Spencer provides the most intimate, loving and honest portrait yet of his sister. 
 
Praise for Charles Spencer’s writing: 
 
'Top marks for its searing frankness, framed in wistfully beautiful prose’ The Times 
 
‘Acutely observant, his turn of phrase is often delightful' Daily Telegraph 
 
‘A moving, heartbreaking memoir’ Financial Times 
 
‘A tour de force' Washington Post

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‘It was her character that came alight’: read an extract from Swan Song by Charles Spencer

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