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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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A 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)
“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
"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
“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
“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
“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

On Sale: Nov 12, 2024
Page Count: 448 pages
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN-13: 9781541602793

Adrian Tinniswood

About the Author

Adrian Tinniswood is professorial research fellow in history at the University of Buckingham, adjunct professor in history at Maynooth University, and the author of many books on British history, including Noble Ambitions and the New York Times bestseller The Long Weekend. He was awarded an OBE for services to heritage by Queen Elizabeth II and lives in Ireland.

Learn more about this author