spenser

Spenser is a surname and given name of English origin. It appears in historical and contemporary contexts across literature and culture. The most notable bearer is Edmund Spenser (c. 1552–1599), the English poet whose major work The Faerie Queene is a landmark of Renaissance literature. The spelling Spenser remains a legitimate variant, while Spencer is the more common modern form.

Spenser is also used as a fictional name. Robert B. Parker created the private investigator Spenser, who appears in a long-running series of novels beginning with The Godwulf Manuscript (1973). The character is established as a principled Boston-based investigator who relies on wit and physical courage. The success of the books led to a television adaptation, Spenser: For Hire (1985–1988), starring Robert Urich as Spenser.

In other media and scholarship, Spenser appears as a given name or surname in various works, sometimes confusingly with the variant Spencer. The name has contributed to discussions of English literary authorship and popular detective fiction.

See also

Spencer (surname).