Aristocrats: The Illustrated Companion

by Stella Tillyard

A rich social history of the eighteenth century that accompanies a BBC TV series, here is the story of four sisters as threads in the tapestry of a grand era. The daughters of the Second Duke and Duchess of Richmond lived in magnificence as mistresses of some of the most splendid houses in England and Ireland through turbulent times, from the Jacobite Rebellion to the French Revolution. Photographs reveal the spectacular treasure trove of houses, furniture, objects, and paintings that they had commissioned, while stills taken on the location of the TV drama show the actors in their settings and costumes. A historian and best-selling author takes you deep into their opinions, tastes, and habits, describing everything from how and where they bought their furniture and found their gardeners to the details of their lifestyle. A beautiful introduction to a majestic world. 208 pages, 135 color illus., 16 b/w illus., 7 3/4 x 9 1/2. NEW IN PAPERBACK

Genres: History, Nonfiction, 18th Century

208 pages, Hardcover

First published December 28, 1999

About the author

Stella Tillyard is a British novelist and historian. She was educated at Oxford and Harvard Universities and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Her bestselling book Aristocrats was made into a miniseries for BBC1/Masterpiece Theatre, and sold to over twenty countries. Winner of the Meilleur Livre Etranger, the Longman-History Today Prize, and the Fawcett Prize, Tillyard has taught at Harvard University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters at Queen Mary, London. She is currently a Visiting Professor in the Department of History, Classics and Archaeology at Birkbeck, University of London. Her latest novel is Call Upon the Water (published in the UK under the title The Great Level).

Reviews

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Tillyard's original book and watching the series, this was an excellent addition, giving lots of extra information and pictures. I luxuriated in hearing about all the 18th-century costumes, country houses and meals, and seeing snippets from letters and journals, etc.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book...a great companion guide to the mini series.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay I haven't actually seen this mini series, or the book...so I got this for the pretty pictures.

That said, this is still worth reading because of the very indepth discussions this book gives of the clothes, houses and lives of the character.

I have been trying for some years now to really grasp how the clothes of the tudor age and onward (and even backward) were put together. I get lost in the stomachers and waistcoats and pantaloons. This book got me a tiny tiny tiny bit closer.

Oh, and the pictures of the houses and how they were filled was really really really cool.

[Yodemon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lives of the Lennox sisters were fascinating. The sisters were avid letter writers so there was a lot of material to choose from. A good mix of well known politics (e.g. 1798 rebellion) with a bit of raciness, shocking scandal and peculiar medical practices thrown in.

[Vic · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a must have for those who loved the mini series.

[Rebecca Huston · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous book rich with pictures from the series and from art of the time. Worth it for anyone who loved the series or the book.