The Long Weekend

March 28, 2016
English writer and historian Tinniswood (The Rainborowes) elegantly explores the glamorous interwar age of English rural getaways, revealing the not-so-secret affairs of the inhabitants and the reinterpretation of architectural and interior design (particularly the “Wrenaissance” style of the Edwardian Baroque). In the years between the World Wars, sprawling country houses returned to fashion thanks to burgeoning railroad travel. The English nobility—and even royalty, such as the future Edward VIII—enjoyed their minipalace getaways, and soon the trend caught on with the nouveau riche—in particular Americans such as William Randolph Hearst, with his “English” castle in Wales. Plenty of famous and infamous people frequented these weekend homes, but Tinniswood provides little background to make non-British readers unaware of some of the ironies—such as the sight of the revolutionary Gore-Booth sisters in their own Anglo-Irish country house. Instead, Tinniswood’s examination—complete with gorgeous images—centers on architecture and design; he admires quality no matter the style and notes where it’s missing, especially where a new spouse muddled a project’s coherence. Tinniswood’s lovely chronological ode to a past lifestyle brims with tales of the elite’s tumultuous weekends and shows how the country house’s purpose changed with the times as the old social order came to a close. Photos. Agent: George Lucas, InkWell Management.

March 15, 2016
A nostalgic account of life at English country houses during the interbellum era. Tinniswood, who has written frequently about English cultural history--from pirates (Pirates of Barbary, 2010) to architecture (The Arts and Crafts House, 1999)--returns with a richly researched story about the rise and fall and transformation of country-house living, the effects on same of World War I and the arrival of World War II, and numerous other aspects of the phenomenon. In each chapter the author focuses on a different perspective: the emergence of the country house, country-house living of the royals, various restorations of some places that date back to the Elizabethan era, the arrival of moneyed Americans, upstairs/downstairs stuff, and the changes wrought by more bohemian occupants. Tinniswood teaches us about shooting, hunting, tennis, and golf (some owners built links on their grounds). We learn a lot about the designers, remodelers, occupants, and sales and purchases as well as the endless array of names of these places: Castle Drogo, Gladstone Park, and the like. The author does not suggest that there is anything untoward about any of this vast wealth in the midst of vast poverty, probably calculating that this is the sort of text that will appeal to the myriad viewers of Downton Abbey. Tinniswood includes plenty of engaging details and amusing anecdotes--e.g., one owner's idea for stringing electrical wires: "they prized up a floorboard at one end and dropped a dead rabbit into the void; then they prized up a floorboard at the other end and unleashed a ferret, with a string tied to his collar. When the ferret had managed to negotiate the joists and reach the rabbit, the string was used to pull through a cable and, hey, presto! The problem was solved." Although there are many pictures and illustrations throughout, readers will surely wish for more images of these remarkable dwellings. An enjoyable tour with a genial, informed, devoted docent.

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March 15, 2016

Traditional thinking holds that the English country house fell into inexorable decline during the years between the two World Wars. Sold off piecemeal, abandoned to rot, or often demolished, many residences suffered when staff shortages and social upheaval following World War II meant that extensive Edwardian estates could no longer function. Challenging this theory, Tinniswood (history, Univ. of Buckingham; The Rainborowes) here uses his architectural historian's brush to paint another picture. He reveals the English country house as a vibrant enterprise, benefitting from new owners, money, and architects bringing contemporary ideas to the art of country living. Informative and entertaining, Tinniswood's meticulous research brings us familiar names, such as the Astors and Edward VIII, while introducing us to lesser-known homeowners who wished to create their own modernist vision. VERDICT This book is a natural complement to Clive Aslet's The Last Country House and will appeal to those interested in 20th-century English social history, especially those who cherish the subject as a symbol of "a still point at the center of a maelstrom of cultural and social change."--Penelope J.M. Klein, Fayetteville, NY

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2016
They bore names such as Cliveden and Blenheim, Sissinghurst and Stourhead, and hosted guests from Cole Porter to Wallis Simpson, not to mention countless dukes, earls, kings, and queens. Stately homes and manor houses flourished throughout Britain during the early twentieth century, that unworldly time between world wars when the country's aristocracy retreated to the county to celebrate the survival of one tragedy and steel themselves for what was to come. They spent their seemingly endless leisure time partying as only royals can: fox hunts, costume balls, secret assignations, and public displays of wealth and sophistication. Yet as time and taxes took their inevitable toll, these once-grand homes frequently fell into disrepair or, almost as tragically, foreign hands. With scholarly aplomb and gossipy relish, historian Tinniswood (The Rainborowes, 2013) pulls open the grand front doors of these captivating castles to reveal their innermost workings and outward allure. Now that Downton Abbey is no more, fans of this halcyon, refined world can once again immerse themselves in Britain's quintessential golden era.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)