The Power and the Glory

Adrian Tinniswood

£14.99

In the decades before the First World War, the owners of the nation’s stately homes revelled in a golden age of glory and glamour. Nothing lay beyond their reach in a world where privilege and hedonism went hand-in-hand with duty and honour. This was a time when the ancestral seats of ancient nobility stood side-by-side with the fabulous palaces of Jewish bankers and Indian princes, when dukes and duchesses mixed with aristocratic society hostesses who had learned to dance in the chorus line and self-made millionaires who had been raised in the slums of Manchester and Birmingham. ‘The Power and the Glory’ explores the country house during this golden age, when Britain ruled over a quarter of the world’s population, when its stately homes were at their most opulent and when, for the privileged few, life in the country house was the best life of all.

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Publish Date: 02/07/2026

Description

'Enthralling' Lucy Worsley

'Wonderful' Judith Flanders

'A whirling, waltzing panorama through the last carefree age of British nobility’ New Statesman

Adrian Tinniswood opens the doors on the excess, intrigue and absurdities of life in the late Victorian and Edwardian country house

In the decades before the First World War, the owners of the nation’s stately homes revelled in a golden age of glory and glamour. This was a time when the ancestral seats of ancient nobility stood side by side with the fabulous palaces of Jewish bankers and Indian princes, when dukes and duchesses mixed with self-made millionaires and society hostesses who had learned to dance in the chorus line.

Adrian Tinniswood opens the doors to the country house during this glittering golden age, when – for the privileged few – life in the country house was the best life of all.

'Fascinating' TLS

'Illuminating' Literary Review

'The range and scope of his book is breathtaking' Country Life

With stunning full-colour images

Additional information

Weight 332 g
Dimensions 198 × 128 × 29 mm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Paperback

Pages

432

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

305.52320941 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K