A delightful journey through the glamorous story of the English country house party by the bestselling historian. Croquet. Parlour games. Cocktails. Welcome to a glorious journey through the golden age of the country house party - and you are invited. Our host, celebrated historian Adrian Tinniswood, traces the evolution of this quintessentially British pastime from debauched royal tours to the flamboyant excess of the Bright Young Things. With cameos by the Jazz Age industrialist, the bibulous earl and the off-duty politician - whether in moated manor houses or ornate Palladian villas - Tinniswood gives a vivid insight into weekending etiquette and reveals the hidden lives of celebrity guests, from Nancy Astor to Winston Churchill, in all their drinking, feasting, gambling and fornicating. The result is a deliciously entertaining, star-studded, yet surprisingly moving portrait of a time when social conventions were being radically overhauled through the escapism of a generation haunted by war - and a uniquely fast-living period of English history. Praise for The Long Weekend: 'Delicious, occasionally fantastical, revealing in ways that Downton Abbey never was. It is as if Tinniswood is at the biggest, wildest, most luxuriantly decadent party ever thrown, and he knows everyone.' Observer 'A deliciously jaunty and wonderfully knowledgeable book. Tinniswood displays a terrific insider's grasp of gossip . A meticulous, irresistible story.' Spectator 'Elegant, encyclopedic and entertaining . A confident and skilled historian who understands the mores of his era and wears his learning lightly . Deserves to be on every costume drama producer's bookshelf.' Times

The real lives of women in Britain's country houses.

A deliciously told group biography of the young, rich, American heiresses who married into the impoverished British aristocracy at the turn of the twentieth century – the real women who inspired Downton Abbey Towards the end of the nineteenth century and for the first few years of the twentieth, a strange invasion took place in Britain. The citadel of power, privilege and breeding in which the titled, land-owning governing class had barricaded itself for so long was breached. The incomers were a group of young women who, fifty years earlier, would have been looked on as the alien denizens of another world - the New World, to be precise. From 1874 - the year that Jennie Jerome, the first known 'Dollar Princess', married Randolph Churchill - to 1905, dozens of young American heiresses married into the British peerage, bringing with them all the fabulous wealth, glamour and sophistication of the Gilded Age. Anne de Courcy sets the stories of these young women and their families in the context of their times. Based on extensive first-hand research, drawing on diaries, memoirs and letters, this richly entertaining group biography reveals what they thought of their new lives in England - and what England thought of them.

An irresistibly charming love story spanning two generations, perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley A secret held by too many generations... 1936. Brought up in Cornwall by her grandparents, Aster thinks often of her parents, who were taken from her at a tragically early age. The only thing she has to remember her mother by is her Flower Book, a journal of pressed flowers that charts Violet’s life and dreams – and keeps all her secrets... On her 21st birthday, Aster receives devastating news that turns everything she knew about herself upside down. Will she finally discover what really happened to her parents? A heartbreaking story of love and hope, secrets and lies. Perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley and Fiona Valpy. 'Lovely, absolutely lovely. I giggled, I cried, I swooned and I learnt a few things about wild flowers... a wonderful adventure. Very enjoyable.' Reader Review 'A vivid, stirring and emotional historical novel' Reader Review 'a lovely story of romance, betrayal, lies and loyalty with a sprinkling of country lore' Reader Review 'A thoroughly enjoyable read. A good storyline with a few twists.' Reader Review Previously published as The Flower Book.

Mary Elizabeth Williams, an heiress from North Wales, was only twenty when in 1823 she reluctantly married George Lucy and became mistress of Charlecote Old Hall in Warwickshire. Sixty years later she wrote this engaging account of her life for her grandchildren. It was a life of great happiness, for she grew to love her husband deeply. Her country home, her children, the London season and a tour abroad all brought joy and fulfilment. But her contentment was marred by tragedy as few of her many children survived her. Her words reveal a character of great strength and determination. High-spirited, discerning and delightfully free from prudishness, Mary Elizabeth Lucy draws pen-portraits of the people she met - Queen Victoria and Sir Walter Scott among them - and provides an authentic view of life in fashionable 19th-century society.

A delightful memoir of Mary Elizabeth Lucy and her life at Charlecote. Mary Elizabeth Williams, an heiress from North Wales, was only twenty when in 1823 she reluctantly married George Lucy and became mistress of Charlecote Old Hall in Warwickshire. Sixty years later she wrote this engaging account of her life for her grandchildren. It was a life of great happiness, for she grew to love her husband deeply. Her country home, her children, the London season and a tour abroad all brought joy and fulfilment. But her contentment was marred by tragedy as few of her many children survived her. Her words reveal a character of great strength and determination. High-spirited, discerning and delightfully free from prudishness, Mary Elizabeth Lucy draws pen-portraits of the people she met - Queen Victoria and Sir Walter Scott among them - and provides an authentic view of life in fashionable 19th-century society.

This title was first published in 2000. Rosa Nouchette Carey (1840-1909), the English author of forty-one ’domestic’ novels, was continuously in print from 1868 until at least 1924 and yet she is virtually unknown today. This first in-depth study of Carey’s work assesses both her immense popularity and her subsequent fall from favour. Organized thematically, it engages with the historical and cultural context of the novels as well as comparing them with the work of Carey’s contemporaries. Matters such as Carey’s creative response towards spinsterhood, her provision of vicarious male approval and her valorization of housework are perceived as functions of her writing that lie beyond formal literary criticism. This is not to deny the literary value of Carey’s work; rather it is to make intelligible its value to a large and enthusiastic readership despite an undoubted lack of appreciation on the part of reviewers.