The Power and the Glory: The Country House Before the Great War

by Adrian Tinniswood

In the decades before the First World War, the owners of the nation’s stately homes revelled in a golden age of glory and glamour. Nothing lay beyond their reach in a world where privilege and hedonism went hand-in-hand with duty and honour. This was a time when the ancestral seats of ancient nobility stood side-by-side with the fabulous palaces of Jewish bankers and Indian princes, when dukes and duchesses mixed with aristocratic society hostesses who had learned to dance in the chorus line and self-made millionaires who had been raised in the slums of Manchester and Birmingham.

The Power and the Glory explores the country house during this golden age, when Britain ruled over a quarter of the world’s population, when its stately homes were at their most opulent and when, for the privileged few, life in the country house was the best life of all.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

420 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 3, 2024

About the author

Adrian John Tinniswood OBE FSA (born 11 October 1954) is an English writer and historian. He is currently Professor of English Social History at the University of Buckingham.

Tinniswood studied English and Philosophy at Southampton University and was awarded an MPhil at Leicester University.

Tinniswood has often acted as a consultant to the National Trust, and has lectured at several universities including the University of Oxford and the University of California, Berkeley.

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Reviews

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not really much of a non-fiction reader, but The Power and the Glory grabbed my attention with its great cover and I’m so glad I gave it a try. Following the history of British country houses and estates, this book was a really good mix of factual and contextual stories, that as it went along felt much more anecdotal, which I really enjoyed. By the end I felt like I was learning some pretty juicy Victorian and Edwardian gossip which kept me interested to the end. The book jumps around a lot in terms of chronology, but instead focuses on providing context for each topic. Thoroughly enjoyable, I’ve already recommended to friends.

[Gareth Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adrian Tinniswood seems to have covered all aspects of country houses in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. It’s an interesting, well-structured book with plenty of colour.

[Johannes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I've been choosing wrong books for a while but as per others comments I'm not the only thinking this book has ups and downs, and I had indeed struggled on the "downs" parts.

I do agree it should have ended perhaps two chapters sooner than it did, I would as far as to suggest some editing was desperately needed here, and for a book so focused on houses, the lack of pictures/photos, even in black and white felt missing when you are talking about architecture feats, both extant, and gone due to demolitions. All in all, it is a 2,5 more close to a 2/5 should you ask me.