
The House Party
A Short History of Leisure, Pleasure and the Country House Weekend
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
A delightful
journey
through the glamorous story of the English country house party by the bestselling historian.
Croquet. Parlour games. Cocktails. Welcome to a glorious journey through the
golden age of the country house party - and
you are invited.
Our host,
celebrated historian
Adrian Tinniswood, traces the evolution of this quintessentially British pastime from debauched
royal tours to the flamboyant excess of the
Bright Young Things. With cameos by the
Jazz Age industrialist, the bibulous earl and the off-duty politician - whether in moated manor houses or ornate Palladian villas - Tinniswood gives a vivid insight into
weekending etiquette and reveals the hidden lives of
celebrity guests, from
Nancy Astor to Winston Churchill, in all their drinking, feasting, gambling and fornicating.
The result is a deliciously entertaining,
star-studded, yet surprisingly moving portrait of a time when social conventions were being radically overhauled through the escapism of a generation haunted by
war - and a uniquely fast-living period of
English history.
Praise for
The Long Weekend:
'Delicious, occasionally fantastical, revealing in ways that
Downton
Abbey never was. It is as if Tinniswood is at the biggest, wildest, most luxuriantly decadent party ever thrown, and he knows
everyone.' Observer
'A deliciously jaunty and wonderfully knowledgeable book. Tinniswood displays a terrific insider's grasp of gossip . A meticulous, irresistible story.' Spectator
'Elegant, encyclopedic and entertaining . A confident and skilled historian who understands the mores of his era and wears his learning lightly . Deserves to be on every costume drama producer's bookshelf.' Times
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Landing Page
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction: In Stately Conclave Met
- 1: Early Arrivals
- 2: Who to Ask
- 3: Making an Entrance
- 4: Meat and Drink
- 5: Playing the Field
- 6: Games People Play
- 7: Home Thoughts
- 8: No Such Undertaking
- 9: Aftermath
- Acknowledgements
- Illustrations and Photo Credits
- Photographs
- About the Author
- Copyright