Includes bibliographical references (pages 418-425) and index.
Contents:
The British country house revisited -- Design & construction -- An inheritance restored: a private owner's experience -- Sharing treasures: the National Trust for England, Wales and Northern Ireland -- Magnificence & power -- Wealth & Consumption -- Stories of the "Big House": new approaches in Irish country house studies -- Learning & religion -- An inviting alliance: the Yorkshire country house partnership -- Keeping the roof on: National Trust for Scotland's "Country Houses Scheme" -- Pleasure & recreation -- Household & function -- Legacies of British slave ownership: facing a difficult past -- When the walls come down: after the destruction of Marks Hall -- Destruction & survival -- Downton Abbey and the country house: exploring new fiction.
Summary:
From The Crown to Downton Abbey, the country house speaks to our fantasies of rustic splendor, style, and escape. Featuring three hundred photos from the National Trust, this lavish book draws back the curtain on the finest and most important historic homes in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, revealing these great houses' intriguing pasts, grand interiors, and vibrant reinventions for the enjoyment of modern-day visitors, residents, and armchair travelers. Locations include Knole, Cragside, Castle Howard, Chatsworth, Polesden Lacey, Petworth, Castle Bodiam, Blenheim, Longleat, and dozens more. Illuminating essays by country house expert Jeremy Musson, legendary British author and historian David Cannadine, and contributing writers and scholars provide unique insight into centuries of life in a historic home. This is a rich visual resource for lovers of sumptuous interiors on a human scale, as well as grand exterior architecture and gorgeous landscapes. For Anglophiles, royals watchers, and lovers of the country house lifestyle, architecture, and interior design, this is a magnificent new look at landmark British country houses, the treasures they contain, and how they speak to our fantasies of rustic splendor and escape today.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.