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TELEGRAPH 50 BEST BOOKS OF 2022

A sparkling biography of a fascinating woman Lynn Barber Telegraph

Gaudoins 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 faade 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 Raines compelling and glamorous life revealing her to be a powerful accomplished woman who after a tumultuous relationship reconciled with Diana to become the Princesss 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 Raines 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 Gaudoins 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