The silver salver: The story of the Guinness family

by Frederic Mullally

Arguably the most fascinating family saga of the past two centuries, the story of how the Guinnesses rose from obscurity to become a household name and one of the wealthiest dynasties ever is told here for the first time.The story spans 250 years, from the founder of the family, an Anglo-Irish rent collector, down to the present generation of Guinnesses, headed by the 3rd Earl of Iveagh. It tells not one saga but that of the Lee Guinnesses who created the world s biggest brewery, the Rundell Guinnesses whose merchant banking empire now straddles the globe, and the Grattan Guinnesses whose adventurous, sometimes hair- raising careers as evangelical missionaries in the 19th century provide one of the least publicized but in many ways most colourful chapters of the Guinness story.It is a story of spectacular achievement and heartbreaking tragedy, an intimate study of Guinnesses ranging from the glamorous heiresses who took Society by storm to a topless showgirl in Las Vegas, from a Knight of the Garter to a hopeless alcoholic, from a Minister of State to a racing driver, from a Wall Street tycoon to an Australian sheep farmer.The book is handsomely illustrated with photographs and genealogical charts.

255 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981