The story of the Devonshires is the story of Britain. William Cavendish the father of the first Earl dissolved monasteries for Henry VIII. Bess his second wife was gaoler-companion to Mary Queen of Scots during her long imprisonment in Engl&. Arbella Stuart their granddaughter was a heartbeat away from the throne of England & their grandson Lord General of the North fought to save the crown for Charles I. Fifty years later the First Duke of Devonshire conspired to depose James II & make William of Orange king. For the next two centuries the Devonshires were at the heart of fashionable society & the centre of political power. The Fourth Duke became prime minister & Georgiana wife of the Fifth scandalised even the Regency. Spencer Compton the last of the great Devonshires was three times offered the preimership & three times refused it. Even the Devonshire servants made history. Joseph Paxton was their gardner & Thomas Hobbes was the family tutor. With the help of previously unpublished material from the Chatsworth archives The Devonshires reveals how the dynasty made & lost fortunes fought & fornicated built great houses patronised the arts & pioneered the railways made great scientific discoveries & in the end came to terms with changing times. It is popular history at its very best.