Country House Society

by Pamela Horn

When the cataclysm of the First World War impacted on British society, it particularly affected the landed classes, with their long military tradition. Country houses, as in a variety of popular TV dramas, were turned into military hospitals and convalescent homes, while many of the menfolk were killed or badly injured in the hostilities. When the war ended efforts were made to return to the pre-war world. Pleasure seeking in night-clubs, sporting events and country-house weekends became the order of the day. Many of the old former rituals such as presentation at Court for debutantes and royal garden parties were revived. Yet, overshadowing all were the economic pressures of the decade as increased taxation, death duties and declining farm rentals reduced landed incomes. Some owners sold their mansions or some land to newly enriched businessmen who had prospered as a result of the war. Others turned to city directorships to make ends meet or, in the case of the women, ran dress shops and other small businesses. The 1920s proved a decade of flux for High Society, with the light-hearted dances, treasure hunts and sexual permissiveness of the 'Bright Young People' contrasting with the financial anxieties and problems faced by their parents' generation. Pamela Horn draws on the letters and diaries of iconic figures of the period, such as Nancy Mitford and Barbara Cartland, to give an insight into this new post-war era

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Research, British Literature

254 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2013

About the author

Pamela Horn is an historian specialising in Victorian social history. The author of acclaimed books on rural life, servant lives and childhood, she lectured on economic and social history at Oxford Polytechnic, now Oxford Brookes University, for over twenty years.

Reviews

[Andie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a detailed look at English Country House life in the decade immediately following World War II. Lots of detail here not only about life in country houses, but also about the upper class rituals of the London Season, presentation at court and the economic realities of keeping up these grand estates. Recommended for people who need some reality after watching on too many BBC mini-series about the British Upper Classes.

[Carolyn Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book in the gift shop of Leeds Castle and enjoyed the author's analysis of British country house life in the 1920s. Horn emphasizes the lasting impact of the First World War on British upper class society from the sale of great estates because of inheritance taxes as landowners and their heirs died in the war in quick succession to the emergence of a frantic social life among those eager to forget their wartime losses and memories. Horn also discusses the range of different experiences among the British upper class from approaches to household management to opportunities to work outside the home.

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very readable, clear and concise. Pamela Horn will be missed.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, some bits I didn't know but alot I've read before.

[Coyney · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating read

[Angela Reeves · Rating 1 out of 5]

dull