Anna Massey tells the story of some of the ambitious families who helped shape the history of the British Isles and have wielded power behind the scenes for the past 1000 years. The Dynasties relates how the loyalties of this privileged elite, many of whom are older than the monarchy itself, were tested and rewarded: it also uncovers a multitude of murderous plots, bloody battles, adulteries, intrigues and shocking executions. Of the families examined in this third volume, the Churchills are irrevocably connected with Sir Winston, yet before him came Lord Randolph and the first Duke of Marlborough. The Cecils came to power among the Tudors of the 16th century and continue to influence English public life right up to the present day, whilst the Dalrymples produced some of the most famous legal minds and politicians in Scotland.