Country life

Emma — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

For 125 years Country Life has presented its readers with the finest insider’s tour of everything quintessentially British. Now in one volume, this spectacular collection of images offers the best of life in the British countryside, from charming Cotswolds villages to panoramic views across the Yorkshire dales and Glastonbury for readers who will revel in tramping across the heather filled moors to see King Charles’s favorite view in all England, the white cliffs of Dover, and the Dark Hedges of Northern Ireland. Discover on these pages the culture and seasonal activities of country life, whether it be a gentleman farmer showing off his prize cattle, fly fishing in the Scottish highlands, swan upping on the Thames, or cricket on the village green.Country Life is renowned for its unprecedented access to the magnificent castles and palaces, as well as private estates and manor houses that dot the countryside from Dorset to the Scottish highlands, revealing many to its fans for the first time. In this volume readers are treated to the loveliest and most important houses and gardens from the last century, from Holkham Hall, Chatsworth, and Burghley, to Munstead Wood, Sissinghurst, and Kelmscott.This book satisfies readers’ seemingly insatiable desire to capture in their own lives a small slice of the romance of English countryside living.

The Castle

Emma — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A vibrant history of the castle in Britain, from the early Middle Ages to the present day

The castle has long had a pivotal place in British life, associated with lordship, landholding, and military might, and today it remains a powerful symbol of history. But castles have never been merely impressive fortresses-they were hubs of life, activity, and imagination.

John Goodall weaves together the history of the British castle across the span of a millennium, from the eleventh to the twenty-first century, through the voices of those who witnessed it. Drawing on chronicles, poems, letters, and novels, including the work of figures like Gawain Poet, Walter Scott, Evelyn Waugh, and P. G. Wodehouse, Goodall explores the importance of the castle in our culture and society.

From the medieval period to Civil War engagements, right up to modern manifestations in Harry Potter, Goodall reveals that the castle has always been put to different uses, and to this day continues to serve as a source of inspiration.

Goodall, John – The Bell Bookshop

Country life

The Castle