VINTAGE The English Country House: An Art and a Way of Life

Nearly 40 years old, slight wear but this book is beautiful, solid, and clean.

NGLAND'S COUNTRY HOUSES owe their existence to England's unique history: to the fact that after the Middle Ages the nobility had no need of defended strongholds; to five hundred years of internal peace, which fostered continuity and tradition; to the practice of the gentry living on the land, not in the capital or in the court; and to the material wealth which enabled major works to be commissioned during every period.

In this book the country house as a work of art is related to the changing manners and habits of mind which made its evolution possible. The kind of people for whom the houses were built, the ritual of their lives within them, their possessions and pursuits, are vividly evoked in words and in the contemporary illustrations that accompany A.F. Kersting's superb photographs. Though their world has vanished, the houses themselves are still here for us to enjoy, and Olive Cook's absorbing study adds immensely to that enjoyment.

269 illustrations, 22 in colour

“No reservations about the enjoyments and insights that Olive Cook and A.F. Kersting allow us . . . narrated with obvious appreciation ... and real skill”

-THE TIMES

“Lucid and authoritative and profusely illustrated”

-DESIGN

“An exceptionally well integrated picture of the role of the country house throughout our history”

-THE CONNOISSEUR

Thames and Hudson

30 Bloomsbury Street, London WCIB 30P