Manor House: Life in an Edwardian Country House

by Juliet Gardiner

Uses the public television reality series "Manor House" to explore the history and social customs of an Edwardian country house.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2003

Reviews

[K.R. Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've watched The Edwardian House (as it's called in Australia) so many times now, I can't count. I've grown to love those that worked downstairs but not necessarily all of those that dwelled upstairs. This companion book is a wealth of Edwardian facts and an in-depth look at what the cameras didn't capture. There are a few irks and quirks with the editing of this book (so the prior owner of my book noted with scribbles when I thought I bought a new copy not a second hand copy from Amazon). But the photographs compliment the information wonderfully.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kind of a mess but it was great fun. Manor House is my favorite reality show ever and I was hoping for hot gossip about the cast and the making of, but this book has little of that: The lower servants snuck upstairs once when the family was at the opera, end of story. Even most of the servant commentary is lifted from dialogue that was presented in the show, as opposed to diary cam comments or post-filming interviews or letters or diaries or any other source. In the main then, this is a book about Edwardian history that includes things like a looooong chapter on King Edward's mistresses and a lot of Edwardian politics. A lot of general good information about the role of servants in an Edwardian household is presented, and tied in to the Edwardian Country House cast experiences, and that's what makes this book good, but not informative about the Edwardian Country House project.

Lots of bonkers typos (calling Alexander Graham Bell "Robert Graham Bell") and inserts on how to make Edwardian crafts at home that look like page layout errors until you get used to them.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bit meandering in terms of structure, but completely packed with wonderful historical details, as well as behind-the-scenes details of the show. Worth a read if this is your sort of thing.

[Angie Marker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good show but even more information on the lifestyles including a big section on Victorian picnics, a huge pastime. Great photographs of the show to accompany the information