The Power and the Glory: Life in the English Country House Before the Great War
A spirited history of the English country house in its golden age



For generations, the great palaces of Britain were home to living histories, noble families that had reigned for centuries. But by the end of the nineteenth century, members of elite society found themselves, for the first time, in the company of arrivistes. Their new neighbors-from chorus girls to millionaire greengrocers to guano impresarios-lacked lineage and were unencumbered by the weight of tradition.



In The Power and the Glory, historian Adrian Tinniswood reconstructs life in the country house during its golden age before the Great War, when Britain ruled over a quarter of the earth's population and its stately homes were at their most opulent. But change was on the horizon: the landed classes were being forced to grapple not only with new neighbors, but also with new social norms and expectations.



An exuberant story, The Power and the Glory offers a delicious, captivating, and often scandalous history of the British country house.
1145011168
The Power and the Glory: Life in the English Country House Before the Great War
A spirited history of the English country house in its golden age



For generations, the great palaces of Britain were home to living histories, noble families that had reigned for centuries. But by the end of the nineteenth century, members of elite society found themselves, for the first time, in the company of arrivistes. Their new neighbors-from chorus girls to millionaire greengrocers to guano impresarios-lacked lineage and were unencumbered by the weight of tradition.



In The Power and the Glory, historian Adrian Tinniswood reconstructs life in the country house during its golden age before the Great War, when Britain ruled over a quarter of the earth's population and its stately homes were at their most opulent. But change was on the horizon: the landed classes were being forced to grapple not only with new neighbors, but also with new social norms and expectations.



An exuberant story, The Power and the Glory offers a delicious, captivating, and often scandalous history of the British country house.
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The Power and the Glory: Life in the English Country House Before the Great War

The Power and the Glory: Life in the English Country House Before the Great War

by Adrian Tinniswood

Narrated by Matthew Lloyd Davies

Unabridged — 13 hours, 5 minutes

The Power and the Glory: Life in the English Country House Before the Great War

The Power and the Glory: Life in the English Country House Before the Great War

by Adrian Tinniswood

Narrated by Matthew Lloyd Davies

Unabridged — 13 hours, 5 minutes

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Overview

A spirited history of the English country house in its golden age



For generations, the great palaces of Britain were home to living histories, noble families that had reigned for centuries. But by the end of the nineteenth century, members of elite society found themselves, for the first time, in the company of arrivistes. Their new neighbors-from chorus girls to millionaire greengrocers to guano impresarios-lacked lineage and were unencumbered by the weight of tradition.



In The Power and the Glory, historian Adrian Tinniswood reconstructs life in the country house during its golden age before the Great War, when Britain ruled over a quarter of the earth's population and its stately homes were at their most opulent. But change was on the horizon: the landed classes were being forced to grapple not only with new neighbors, but also with new social norms and expectations.



An exuberant story, The Power and the Glory offers a delicious, captivating, and often scandalous history of the British country house.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Telegraph Best History Book of 2024

“A lively and informative history sprinkled with nuggets of insight.”—Wall Street Journal

“One of the most enjoyable aspects of this book is the palpable excitement felt by late 19th-century owners about their houses’ newfangled features.”—Times (UK)

“Tinniswood’s winning approach to writing history… combines the anecdotal and the analytical to paint a vivid picture of somewhat distant days and cultures.”—New Criterion

“A whirling, waltzing panorama through the last carefree age of British nobility. Tinniswood [has] a terrific eye for detail and anecdote, all the better to show the country house in its most extreme age of pomp, profligacy and exuberance.”—New Statesman

“As with Adrian Tinniswood’s other books, [The Power and the Glory] is underscored by meticulous social, economic and architectural research [and an] engaging cast of characters… The range and the scope of his book is breathtaking.”—Country Life Magazine

“Sardonically witty.”—Timothy Mowl, Country Life Magazine

“Tinniswood, rather with the air of an impeccable butler assuring the visitor that all will be well, welcomes the reader into a world of glamour and mad extravagance… what a wonderful bird’s eye view [he] gives us.”—The Jewish Chronicle

"An entertaining mélange of scholarship and scandal."—Kirkus

“Entertaining.”—Literary Review

"[A] smart, understatedly witty book… the consistent strength of this book is Tinniswood's skill at spotlighting characters; for a book highlighting places, these pages are most memorably full of people."—Open Letters Review

“Tinniswood has done it again. His trademark blend of glamor, scholarship, and superlative storytelling makes this an enthralling read.”—Lucy Worsley, author of Agatha Christie

“A wonderful book. There is no one better than Adrian Tinniswood to explore the dichotomy of the great country houses of Britain in the long prewar period, as he shows us ancestral hangings mixed with new telephone exchanges, coronation robes with marble swimming baths that doubled as ballrooms.”—Judith Flanders, author of A Place for Everything

“Scintillating and brilliant, from a master of the subject. The book is like sitting down to dinner with a fascinating companion—it is deeply learned but also erudite, conversational, and interesting. A beautiful portrait of the Victorian and the Edwardian country house, full of analysis and anecdotes.”—Gareth Russell, author of The Palace

Kirkus Reviews

2024-09-25
Picture books on English country houses are an ongoing genre, but this is a genuine work of history.

Mixing research and gossip, historian Tinniswood has written three volumes on his favorite subject. Although this first volume summarizes its long history, the author concentrates on the golden age of the country house between 1870 and 1914, when hundreds were built or drastically remodeled and a great deal of new money was invested in what was widely if not universally believed to be “a supremely attractive, if mythic, vision of the past.” British media and magazines such asCountry Life glamorized the country, persuading successful businessmen from around the world to live in titanic mansions surrounded by vast estates. Tinniswood knows his subject, but readers may be surprised to discover that there are no illustrations. A coffee-table book such asThe Country House by David Cannadine might help readers as an additional reference when Tinniswood delves into architectural, interior decorating, and landscaping details. There are the expected topics—gardens, hunting, servants, royal visits, foreign villas, the arrival of the automobile, and modern conveniences. Readers with a taste for action will welcome accounts of country house fires, country house crimes, and owners’ often spectacular sexual peccadilloes and divorces. Imported, mostly American plutocrats make their mark, and readers will receive an education in upper-class antisemitism, traditional but not universal and less vicious than the Continental version.

An entertaining mélange of scholarship and scandal.

Product Details

BN ID: 2940194488308
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Publication date: 04/15/2025
Edition description: Unabridged
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