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The Long Weekend: Life in the English Country House, 1918-1939
From an acclaimed social and architectural historian, the tumultuous, scandalous, glitzy, and glamourous history of English country houses and high society during the interwar period
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2015
228 people are currently reading
1655 people want to read
About the author
Adrian Tinniswood
40 books65 followersAdrian 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).
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).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
February 18, 2017
This is Downton Abbey with the boring bits left in and the interesting bits removed as they had been sold off to Julian Fellowes for his tv show. (Not really, but it reads like that). If you love to read about rich people and how they lived their lives always putting their social lives before work, if they worked at all, and you love looking up names of people you've never heard of, then you will love this book.
It isn't about life in these beautiful old stately homes, it's about parties, who was invited where, who they were, what they did (eat, shoot, change clothes a lot) but mostly who they were and often what they thought of each other and the sort of effortlessly upper-class manners expected of them. (Don't call on weekdays to respond to invitations, dreadfully lower class) This is (most of) the third paragraph of the book:
In November 1934, for example, the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire entertained twenty guests at Chatsworth for one of their grandest parties. Guests of honor were the Princess Royal and the Earl of Harewood, who hadn’t visited since 1921 when the earl, then Viscount Lascelles, proposed to his princess. Shooting parties were laid on for the Saturday and the Monday, and the Devonshires invited a glittering gaggle of acquaintances for the weekend to meet the royal couple, including the Duke and Duchess of Portland from Welbeck Abbey, the Marquess and Marchioness of Londonderry, art historian Kenneth Clark, and Conservative politician Lord Hugh Cecil.
The fourth paragraph contains another 13 people, several of the women are dismissed as 'and his wife' though. The fifth has another five names. the sixth has six names plus 'and their wives'.
Some of the people are remarkably uninteresting. Loelia Ponsonby only had one chiffon evening dress and had to repair her dancing shoes, oh dear. Thelma Converse travelled down to Marmaduke Furness's shooting lodge on a train with him and his staff, valet, three footmen and two housemaids who prepared an extravagant dinner for them in a train compartment. "What? No plover's eggs?" She complained.
Only the guests are written about. The large numbers of workers, the housemaids, cooks, valets and other support staff are invisible to us, probably as they were to the guests unless there is an anecdote to relate where the staff were involved with the guests.
I fell asleep reading it and when I woke up I thought there is a great, glorious world of books out there for me to read, why am I wasting time on this?
It isn't about life in these beautiful old stately homes, it's about parties, who was invited where, who they were, what they did (eat, shoot, change clothes a lot) but mostly who they were and often what they thought of each other and the sort of effortlessly upper-class manners expected of them. (Don't call on weekdays to respond to invitations, dreadfully lower class) This is (most of) the third paragraph of the book:
In November 1934, for example, the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire entertained twenty guests at Chatsworth for one of their grandest parties. Guests of honor were the Princess Royal and the Earl of Harewood, who hadn’t visited since 1921 when the earl, then Viscount Lascelles, proposed to his princess. Shooting parties were laid on for the Saturday and the Monday, and the Devonshires invited a glittering gaggle of acquaintances for the weekend to meet the royal couple, including the Duke and Duchess of Portland from Welbeck Abbey, the Marquess and Marchioness of Londonderry, art historian Kenneth Clark, and Conservative politician Lord Hugh Cecil.
The fourth paragraph contains another 13 people, several of the women are dismissed as 'and his wife' though. The fifth has another five names. the sixth has six names plus 'and their wives'.
Some of the people are remarkably uninteresting. Loelia Ponsonby only had one chiffon evening dress and had to repair her dancing shoes, oh dear. Thelma Converse travelled down to Marmaduke Furness's shooting lodge on a train with him and his staff, valet, three footmen and two housemaids who prepared an extravagant dinner for them in a train compartment. "What? No plover's eggs?" She complained.
Only the guests are written about. The large numbers of workers, the housemaids, cooks, valets and other support staff are invisible to us, probably as they were to the guests unless there is an anecdote to relate where the staff were involved with the guests.
I fell asleep reading it and when I woke up I thought there is a great, glorious world of books out there for me to read, why am I wasting time on this?
May 27, 2016
Those nice people at Netgalley and Basic Books sent a free e-copy of this book. Both “life” and “house” appear in the title, but it's more about “house” than “life”, including architecture, sales, renovations, remodeling, redecorating, which aristo hired and later fired which architect, and which magazine critic praised or savaged which design.
This book begins entertainingly (e.g., jewel thieves mistaken for bed-hopping aristos, virtuous English maid-servants successfully defending their honor against rakish Italian man-servants, pet monkeys causing great damage to dignified old mansions). After the first chapters, there's a long time spent on details of the interiors and exteriors of the stately homes, many of which are characterized in an uncomplimentary fashion, and tend to blur together. It's worth persisting until after the half-way point, when the book picks up and becomes less about molding and more about people (esp. rich Americans, homosexuals, servants, and politicians, in that order).
The author assumes a lot of knowledge of UK geography and the lives of members of high society. I think some of the references will bewilder the colonial reader. Example: I didn't feel bad at all about not knowing who Stephen Tennant and Sibyl Colefax (l. 86) were, especially when I found that Tennant, when alive, was apparently famous for being famous without an discernible talent for anything except decadence, sort of like the Kardashians today.
The author apparently approves of “mannerist decoration” (l. 527), “canopy á la polonaise” (l. 724) and “carved work in the style of Grinling Gibbons” (l. 953), among other things, but those of us with inadequate colonial education will have to break from the text to find out what exactly these are. In these days of instant voice search, that's not a great inconvenience, but authors should try not to drive their readers away to other distractions if possible.
Since this is a galley proof, I'd like to suggest that maybe future editions can have a comprehensive “cast of characters” section at the beginning, esp. as people sometimes change their names as they acquire titles and honors. A glossary of architectural/decorating terms wouldn't hurt either. Maybe this is too much of a bother, but I've always felt that non-fiction books would be more successful if they tried to accommodate those of us who don't know so much.
This book will probably be more enjoyable in its paper book format, because the pictures of home interiors will almost undoubtedly clearer and easier to examine at close range in a paper book. The fault here is the Kindle's, not the author's or publisher's.
There was some fun reading, for example:
– Perhaps the earliest documented use of the term “week-end” (then hyphenated) dates from 1879 (l. 76).
– A British Prime Minster of the 1930s was scandalized when he attended a party frequented by “ladies with painted toe nails” (l. 226).
– “...the king tore him off a strip” (l. 848) is what the British say because they are too respectful of their sovereign (and perhaps the reader) to write “… the king tore him a new asshole”.
– “On one occasion Sassoon was supposed to have have the Union Jack lowered from its flagpole because he felt its colors clashed with the sunset” (l. 1318).
– The future Queen Elizabeth II first met her husband when she was eight, when her uncle married his cousin (l. 2267).
– Here are some choice bits of abuse, inspired by a particularly loathsome member of the aristocracy, to hold somewhere in your mind for the time, inevitably, you will need them: “Harold Nicolson described her as “a fat slug filled with venom”; Cecil Beaton called her “a galumphing, greedy, snobbish old toad who watered her chops at the sight of royalty”; and Leonie Leslie, Winston Churchill's aunt, said she would rather have an open sewer flowing through her drawing room than entertain [said loathsome aristo]” (l. 2343). Truely, it was the golden age of invective.
– “… the 5th Earl of Gosford deserted his ancestral seat of Gosford Castle in County Armagh, his wife, Mildred, the daughter of the US minister to Rumania, and his teenaged son and went to New York, where he married a wealthy divorcee, set up a wine shop in Manhattan, and joined the NYPD” (l. 2564). To this information, my reaction was: Wait, what? More detail, please?
– “Everybody likes their party to go with a swing (although few would go as far as Chips Cannon, who put Benzedrine in the cocktails at a formal dinner he gave for the queens of Spain and Rumania)” (l. 2906).
Reading a galley proof can be a little tricky. At one point (l. 3083), aristo X claims to have seen the late aristo Y shooting 2 rhinos from the back of an elephant in Nepal. Directly after, the text reads: “(Are there rhinos in the Himalayas?)”. No answer is given in the text, but a moment's research reveals that rhinos are not native to the Himalayas. Was the parenthetical a note by the author or editor to check a fact? Or was it snark? Sorry, I lack the breeding to tell on my own.
See a complimentary review of this book from the May 7, 2016, edition of The Economist here.
This book begins entertainingly (e.g., jewel thieves mistaken for bed-hopping aristos, virtuous English maid-servants successfully defending their honor against rakish Italian man-servants, pet monkeys causing great damage to dignified old mansions). After the first chapters, there's a long time spent on details of the interiors and exteriors of the stately homes, many of which are characterized in an uncomplimentary fashion, and tend to blur together. It's worth persisting until after the half-way point, when the book picks up and becomes less about molding and more about people (esp. rich Americans, homosexuals, servants, and politicians, in that order).
The author assumes a lot of knowledge of UK geography and the lives of members of high society. I think some of the references will bewilder the colonial reader. Example: I didn't feel bad at all about not knowing who Stephen Tennant and Sibyl Colefax (l. 86) were, especially when I found that Tennant, when alive, was apparently famous for being famous without an discernible talent for anything except decadence, sort of like the Kardashians today.
The author apparently approves of “mannerist decoration” (l. 527), “canopy á la polonaise” (l. 724) and “carved work in the style of Grinling Gibbons” (l. 953), among other things, but those of us with inadequate colonial education will have to break from the text to find out what exactly these are. In these days of instant voice search, that's not a great inconvenience, but authors should try not to drive their readers away to other distractions if possible.
Since this is a galley proof, I'd like to suggest that maybe future editions can have a comprehensive “cast of characters” section at the beginning, esp. as people sometimes change their names as they acquire titles and honors. A glossary of architectural/decorating terms wouldn't hurt either. Maybe this is too much of a bother, but I've always felt that non-fiction books would be more successful if they tried to accommodate those of us who don't know so much.
This book will probably be more enjoyable in its paper book format, because the pictures of home interiors will almost undoubtedly clearer and easier to examine at close range in a paper book. The fault here is the Kindle's, not the author's or publisher's.
There was some fun reading, for example:
– Perhaps the earliest documented use of the term “week-end” (then hyphenated) dates from 1879 (l. 76).
– A British Prime Minster of the 1930s was scandalized when he attended a party frequented by “ladies with painted toe nails” (l. 226).
– “...the king tore him off a strip” (l. 848) is what the British say because they are too respectful of their sovereign (and perhaps the reader) to write “… the king tore him a new asshole”.
– “On one occasion Sassoon was supposed to have have the Union Jack lowered from its flagpole because he felt its colors clashed with the sunset” (l. 1318).
– The future Queen Elizabeth II first met her husband when she was eight, when her uncle married his cousin (l. 2267).
– Here are some choice bits of abuse, inspired by a particularly loathsome member of the aristocracy, to hold somewhere in your mind for the time, inevitably, you will need them: “Harold Nicolson described her as “a fat slug filled with venom”; Cecil Beaton called her “a galumphing, greedy, snobbish old toad who watered her chops at the sight of royalty”; and Leonie Leslie, Winston Churchill's aunt, said she would rather have an open sewer flowing through her drawing room than entertain [said loathsome aristo]” (l. 2343). Truely, it was the golden age of invective.
– “… the 5th Earl of Gosford deserted his ancestral seat of Gosford Castle in County Armagh, his wife, Mildred, the daughter of the US minister to Rumania, and his teenaged son and went to New York, where he married a wealthy divorcee, set up a wine shop in Manhattan, and joined the NYPD” (l. 2564). To this information, my reaction was: Wait, what? More detail, please?
– “Everybody likes their party to go with a swing (although few would go as far as Chips Cannon, who put Benzedrine in the cocktails at a formal dinner he gave for the queens of Spain and Rumania)” (l. 2906).
Reading a galley proof can be a little tricky. At one point (l. 3083), aristo X claims to have seen the late aristo Y shooting 2 rhinos from the back of an elephant in Nepal. Directly after, the text reads: “(Are there rhinos in the Himalayas?)”. No answer is given in the text, but a moment's research reveals that rhinos are not native to the Himalayas. Was the parenthetical a note by the author or editor to check a fact? Or was it snark? Sorry, I lack the breeding to tell on my own.
See a complimentary review of this book from the May 7, 2016, edition of The Economist here.
May 14, 2016
The Long Weekend is an "insider" look at English country houses during the time period of 1918-1939. A lot of this is a "Who's Who" of houses -- pretty much anything you would want to know about who purchased certain houses, when, and how they changed them. It focused a good bit as well on what a typical long weekend involved. I would've loved even more of this kind of info and more pics. When I visited England 4 years ago and had a chance to go through Warwick Castle, my curiosity was first piqued about these "long weekends"--especially after hearing about Daisy's escapades! I really enjoyed this one though and will probably refer back to it often with questions about specifics. I would definitely read more works by the author. It was obvious a lot of research and time went into writing & compiling this book.
**Many thanks to NetGalley and Basic Books for an advance readers copy! **
**Many thanks to NetGalley and Basic Books for an advance readers copy! **
February 11, 2025
Histories of English country houses generally can be divided into two categories. The first are the ones that lean towards the analytical, providing examinations of the design, construction, or operations of the houses. The second are more elegiac in tone, offering wistful accounts of a bygone world. Adrian Tinniswood’s book fits squarely into the latter category. Over the course of seventeen themed chapters, he gives his readers a gossipy overview of what life was like for the residents, guests, and staff of these iconic locales in the decades between the world wars. Taken together, they offer a picture of a world still possessing much of its grandeur, yet one in which the signs of its decline were already apparent. That Tinniswood favors anecdotes over analysis does not make his book a bad one, but it does unnecessarily limit the insights an author as knowledgeable about his subject as he is can provide into the factors contributing to their decline and the ways in which life in them persisted in spite of them.
July 23, 2016
Extremely well-researched and fascinating look at the history of the English Country house. I would have loved more photography as I kept stopping to look up the estates being discussed in order to get a visual.
Thank you, Netgalley, for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you, Netgalley, for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 31, 2016
As a book about English country life, this is a good real estate catalog.
July 22, 2016
This didn't quite live up to expectations--most of the time it felt more like a catalog of who owned which country houses than an actual explanation of what life was like in them, though the last few chapters did give a better sense of that. And given all the descriptions of the houses (many with effusive adjectives), it would have been nice to have more pictures of the houses themselves, but perhaps they were not available. All in all, it did capture the transition of the country house from the sole provenance of the titled few to the more egalitarian privilege of the rising middle classes, and the effort involved in updating and maintaining them. But I don't feel like it did as well in capturing the sensation of what it was like to live in them--it was factual, but not evocative.
July 2, 2016
THE LONG WEEKEND - LIFE IN THE ENGLISH COUNTRY HOUSE, 1918-1939 by Adrian Tinniswood, 2016
[5 stars out of 5]
Many years ago my wife and I (we are now in our eighties) flew to Europe, rented a car and toured the famous gardens of the Continent. Our favorites were in Great Britain.
Reading THE LONG WEEKEND was like reliving the past. In England, we went see to Vita Sackville West"s famous White Garden at the country house of Sissinghurst. At Stourhead we admired the 18th century landscape garden. And in Northern Ireland we were amazed by the magnificent floral garden of Mt. Stewart.
Tinniswood is the reigning authority on these old country houses. He has written 12 books on the subject and was awarded the OBE by the Queen for preserving the nation's architectural and social history This is thematic history with each of the 17 chapters based on a certain theme. There is a chapter entitled The King's House (George V, Prince of Wales, Duke of York).; The House Party (the long weekend from Saturday to Tuesday and
often longer); The Reinstatement (architectural redos); A New Culture (building new country homes by architects who created "hardly inspiring country homes". (p. 97); Home Decorating; Field Sports (the hunt, shoot, and golf; and finally The Old Order Doomed (WWII and turning the homes into hospitals, schools, or transferring them to the National Trust).
So if you are a devotee of Downton Abbey, this is the book for you. Tinniswood has a thousand stories. My favorite is how the aristocratic owners of Stanford Hall in the 1920's "were baffled by the prospect of having to run [electrical] cables through the long ballroom without wrecking its delicate 18th century stuccowork. [They came up with a bright idea] They prized up a
floorboard at one end and dropped a dead rabbit into the void; then they prized up a floorboard at the other end and unleashed a ferret with a string tied to his collar. When the ferret had managed to negotiate the joists and reach the rabbit, the string was used to pull through the electrical cable and hey, presto! The problem was solved." (pp 129-130)
Read, read THE LONG WEEKEND. Learn a lot and enjoy!
[5 stars out of 5]
Many years ago my wife and I (we are now in our eighties) flew to Europe, rented a car and toured the famous gardens of the Continent. Our favorites were in Great Britain.
Reading THE LONG WEEKEND was like reliving the past. In England, we went see to Vita Sackville West"s famous White Garden at the country house of Sissinghurst. At Stourhead we admired the 18th century landscape garden. And in Northern Ireland we were amazed by the magnificent floral garden of Mt. Stewart.
Tinniswood is the reigning authority on these old country houses. He has written 12 books on the subject and was awarded the OBE by the Queen for preserving the nation's architectural and social history This is thematic history with each of the 17 chapters based on a certain theme. There is a chapter entitled The King's House (George V, Prince of Wales, Duke of York).; The House Party (the long weekend from Saturday to Tuesday and
often longer); The Reinstatement (architectural redos); A New Culture (building new country homes by architects who created "hardly inspiring country homes". (p. 97); Home Decorating; Field Sports (the hunt, shoot, and golf; and finally The Old Order Doomed (WWII and turning the homes into hospitals, schools, or transferring them to the National Trust).
So if you are a devotee of Downton Abbey, this is the book for you. Tinniswood has a thousand stories. My favorite is how the aristocratic owners of Stanford Hall in the 1920's "were baffled by the prospect of having to run [electrical] cables through the long ballroom without wrecking its delicate 18th century stuccowork. [They came up with a bright idea] They prized up a
floorboard at one end and dropped a dead rabbit into the void; then they prized up a floorboard at the other end and unleashed a ferret with a string tied to his collar. When the ferret had managed to negotiate the joists and reach the rabbit, the string was used to pull through the electrical cable and hey, presto! The problem was solved." (pp 129-130)
Read, read THE LONG WEEKEND. Learn a lot and enjoy!
March 23, 2019
I liked this a lot. However it isn't at all what is promised. This is not really about the houses or the customs during these Saturday to Monday House Party. Weekends weren't a thing in the upper classes during this period. Weekends imply that one works and to be upper class is to unemployed in this period.
This is mostly gossip primarily about royalty and the houses, castles, estates, etc they own. It covers primarily the Edwardian Age, with a bit of Victorian and Windor Era thrown in for good measure.
Interesting and fun
This is mostly gossip primarily about royalty and the houses, castles, estates, etc they own. It covers primarily the Edwardian Age, with a bit of Victorian and Windor Era thrown in for good measure.
Interesting and fun
dnf
January 29, 2024DNF at 5%
Simply too many names and not enough content
1.29.24
Simply too many names and not enough content
1.29.24
December 27, 2021
Tinniswood details the rise and fall of the English country house between the two world wars. He does not always seem like a disinterested historian; he clearly loves these old houses and their histories. It’s clever how he explores every nook and cranny of the county house as a concept and phenomenon: each chapter is a different aspect of the country house, servants, architecture, decoration, hunting, politics, the Royal Family, etc. - and takes it where he wills (similar to the other book I read by him, Behind the Throne: A Domestic History of the British Royal Household). It’s mostly enjoyable, although the detail he goes into on the architecture of individual houses as an audio book did get rather long in places. Sprinkled throughout are the stories of people who owned, built, decorated, lived in, worked in, and visited these houses: it was all of these people that made the book especially interesting. Well worth your time if you like this sort of thing. Steven Crossley’s posh accent sounds just bored enough with everything to make for a perfect audio version of this; he definitely could be one of the owners.
May 1, 2016
An exceptional book delving into the history and culture of the English landed society of a bygone era. Tinniswood focuses on the English country house as the anchor of this privileged set, chronicling its rise through hundreds of years of documented peerage and subsequent fall in the early part of the twentieth century as WWI ravages Britain's social hierarchy issuing in a new social order. Much of the book is dedicated to the history of specific houses, their owners through the years, and ultimately their destiny as either a family home, ruin, or listing on the National Trust. This reader was enthralled with the other, more delicious aspect of the book which is the retelling of the colorful personalities inhabiting these country homes. Scandals, subterfuge, outrageous parties, not to mention the obscene amount of servants and money required to maintain these properties appeals to the same part of me guiltily addicted to Downton Abbey. No doubt Tinniswood will garner readers searching for more exposure to that much admired period of history where the Saturday to Monday, or the Long Weekend, reigned supreme.
November 27, 2017
The Long Weekend isn't really about "life" in the English Country House Between the Wars - though the opening chapter gives a sense of how weekend parties were conducted and there are later chapters about country sports and servants' lives. Instead, the author focuses on the changing architecture of Country Houses during the reign of George V including reinterpretations of medieval castles, modernism and a revived interest in Georgian architecture. There are also fascinating chapters about the role of the royal family in country house culture of the time. For example, the future Edward VIII's enthusiasm for golf made golf courses a prominent new innovation for country house gardens of the time period. A enjoyable read.
July 9, 2016
REALLY A 2.5. The book had real potential - the title "The Long Weekend" I was anticipating an Upstairs/Downstairs book about the events at different houses not a architectural/decorating book.
As a look at English country houses during the 1918-1939 period the focus seemed to be the fate of the country house: who was buying and selling, renovating and redecorating, or building them. If there had been more pictures and illustrations of how the houses looked before and after the renovations the book would have been more interesting.
As a look at English country houses during the 1918-1939 period the focus seemed to be the fate of the country house: who was buying and selling, renovating and redecorating, or building them. If there had been more pictures and illustrations of how the houses looked before and after the renovations the book would have been more interesting.
December 31, 2017
This was a mix of things I am actually interested in (how life was lived in english country houses in the interwar period -- like the title says!) and a lot of very detailed stuff about architecture and how much money got spent on whose house and how architectural styles changes and other things which don't interest me at all. So there were some chapters I really enjoyed, and a lot of chapters I slogged through; I'm not sorry I read it, but it really was just okay.
November 16, 2019
Superb book! A wonderful insight into an age that no longer exists and never will again.
It felt like I was sat with an aged Aunt who was telling me about places I never knew about and people I'd never meet but needed to know more about!
A truely great read!
It felt like I was sat with an aged Aunt who was telling me about places I never knew about and people I'd never meet but needed to know more about!
A truely great read!
January 1, 2018
As other reviewers have pointed out, this book is often more about the country houses-- their construction, acquisition, renovation and decoration-- than the life inside. Fortunately, however, just when my interest in architecture and design began to wane, I would come across a throwaway line like this: "Her father went to prison for shooting dead her mother's French lover in their suite at the Hotel Splendid in Cannes and then went mad." Or the observation in a book of etiquette that it "goes without saying" that young ladies do not eat cheese in the evening.
Tinniswood obviously revels in revealing a way of life that has disappeared, but he is not an uncritical admirer. For example, he recounts an anecdote that the 9th Duke of Devonshire liked to repeat about the time he "bagged" four with one shot: killing a duck in flight and the retriever dog that followed it and wounding two human bystanders. "My," Tinniswood adds drily, "how everyone must have laughed."
Without a doubt, this is a story of white privilege. In fact, the term "weekend," was really too plebeian for people who had no work to escape from. "Saturday to Monday" was the preferred designation for the days when the leisure class sought their amusements at country manors instead of Mayfair townhouses.
Yet, the wars that bookend the period add a poignancy to the idle pleasure. In the beginning, we meet aristocratic families who have no heirs for their beautiful homes because all of their sons were killed in the Great War. In the final chapter, we read about lavish coming-of-age parties in 1939 for young men who would not survive the next war.
Some of the stately homes remain in the National Trust, open for public tours, but this book helps one to imagine them as something more than museums.
Tinniswood obviously revels in revealing a way of life that has disappeared, but he is not an uncritical admirer. For example, he recounts an anecdote that the 9th Duke of Devonshire liked to repeat about the time he "bagged" four with one shot: killing a duck in flight and the retriever dog that followed it and wounding two human bystanders. "My," Tinniswood adds drily, "how everyone must have laughed."
Without a doubt, this is a story of white privilege. In fact, the term "weekend," was really too plebeian for people who had no work to escape from. "Saturday to Monday" was the preferred designation for the days when the leisure class sought their amusements at country manors instead of Mayfair townhouses.
Yet, the wars that bookend the period add a poignancy to the idle pleasure. In the beginning, we meet aristocratic families who have no heirs for their beautiful homes because all of their sons were killed in the Great War. In the final chapter, we read about lavish coming-of-age parties in 1939 for young men who would not survive the next war.
Some of the stately homes remain in the National Trust, open for public tours, but this book helps one to imagine them as something more than museums.
April 6, 2018
Very interesting look in at life between the two world wars in England and the big changes in that society as a consequence. Would recommend to anyone interested in the period or a general Anglophile. Free e-book from the library.
April 16, 2017
An interesting and varied look at English country houses in the interwar period- draws on a good number of sources!
May 6, 2016
"The Long Weekend" is a look at English country houses during the 1918-1939 period. The focus seemed to be the fate of the country house: who was selling, buying, renovating, redecorating, or building them. The author gave specific details about changes made to certain houses (including royal country houses) and the careers of certain architects or interior decorators. He included some general information about why it was difficult to sell old country houses, why people were selling them, various building or decorating trends, alternative uses found for country houses, and such.
A few chapters covered what a country house party was generally like, the various jobs of the servants, the role that some country houses played in politics, notable fancy dress balls, and various sports done at country houses (with some details about bird hunting). He also talked about Americans who bought English country houses.
I think I would have enjoyed the details about the decorations and changes if there had been more pictures of what the houses looked like before and afterward. As it was, I felt like I had details without the context to make it interesting. I'd also expected this to be more about the activities done at these houses, especially on the weekends. Instead, the book felt like a patchwork of information about country houses. The book was interesting, but I think it'd appeal most to those interested in architecture, interior decoration, and the people who owned these houses.
I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
A few chapters covered what a country house party was generally like, the various jobs of the servants, the role that some country houses played in politics, notable fancy dress balls, and various sports done at country houses (with some details about bird hunting). He also talked about Americans who bought English country houses.
I think I would have enjoyed the details about the decorations and changes if there had been more pictures of what the houses looked like before and afterward. As it was, I felt like I had details without the context to make it interesting. I'd also expected this to be more about the activities done at these houses, especially on the weekends. Instead, the book felt like a patchwork of information about country houses. The book was interesting, but I think it'd appeal most to those interested in architecture, interior decoration, and the people who owned these houses.
I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
May 1, 2016
An atmospheric evocative history of the English Country House post first world war.
The country was changing and people were also.
Servant numbers had been dwindling even before the war as factories were offering better money and even good working conditions.
When the male staff members went to war and some didn't return the owners of the big houses slowly sank into despair. Property developers were snapping at their heels too.
A fascinating insight into the demise of these wonderful houses.
Very highly recommended.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Basic Books via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
The country was changing and people were also.
Servant numbers had been dwindling even before the war as factories were offering better money and even good working conditions.
When the male staff members went to war and some didn't return the owners of the big houses slowly sank into despair. Property developers were snapping at their heels too.
A fascinating insight into the demise of these wonderful houses.
Very highly recommended.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Basic Books via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
June 16, 2016
As other reviewers have noted, this exploration of English history is less interested in the weekend party than the house in which that party was held. Architects, various sales, wood paneling, etc., - if those are your waters dive deeply in! The first chapter, which briefly explores what the weekend party was like (Golden Age mystery fans would be well served to do their homework and read this chapter) was the most interesting for me - but, that's another book. In short, architecture lovers should be well pleased.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
February 1, 2017
Thought that this would be a book about how the gentry lived in England between the world wars and how the changing world changed their lives. Instead it was a book all about who owned what property and how they renovated it. To say I read it is not quite accurate; skimmed most of the book. Appears to be well researched, but the subject matter is not what the title suggests.
June 7, 2016
I was expecting a bit more about daily life and accounts of weekends. Many of the chapters were on architects of these grand estates, and that wasn't something I cared about. It is a readable work of non-fiction yet would do well for research.
July 5, 2016
Elegantly and amusingly written, and full of valuable information about the architects and designers of the British country house between the wars. The social history qua gossip is entertaining and will probably delight the crumpet-fancier crowd, but the book has real scholarly merit as well.
May 14, 2016
3.5 stars
June 25, 2016
Nonfiction
October 10, 2023
I have had this book on my tbr list for ages, so am pleased that I finally got around to reading it. This is a well-researched history of country houses from WWI to WWII. Although the title, 'the long weekend,' may have been a little, 'non-U,' in Nancy Mitford terms. Those who owned, lived, or stayed at country houses, usually visited, 'Saturday to Monday,' not using the term 'weekend,' as that was those who needed to back in the office on a Monday morning.
Having finished this, I think it has both positives and negatives. It begins with a litany of loss, as the land-owning classes lose their sons and heirs in the First World War. This meant that many houses were suddenly on the market and the old order was passing. Some, such as William Cavendish-Bentinck, found himself the surprise owner of properties around the country, plus a title, becoming the Duke of Portland, on the death of those who had expected to survive to live in the estate in Scotland, houses in London for the season and the odd castle.
However, despite the detail, which is excellent, much of this is a little dry. It is the history of houses, from the point of view of architects, the growth of interior design, changing designs as people looked to sun-bathing and swimming, alongside traditional pastimes, such as hunting. There are scandals, the changes after WWI as people disliked working in service, and stories of house parties and cliques which grew around the extreme politics of the years between two world wars. Still, this more a history of the houses, than a social history, so was not as informal as the house parties held in the 1930's. You feel Tinniswood would not have folded back the carpet and played the Charlston, but then, most of those living in those houses did not embrace modernity, but rather took their roles in the community with a sense of tradition that this book mirrors.
Having finished this, I think it has both positives and negatives. It begins with a litany of loss, as the land-owning classes lose their sons and heirs in the First World War. This meant that many houses were suddenly on the market and the old order was passing. Some, such as William Cavendish-Bentinck, found himself the surprise owner of properties around the country, plus a title, becoming the Duke of Portland, on the death of those who had expected to survive to live in the estate in Scotland, houses in London for the season and the odd castle.
However, despite the detail, which is excellent, much of this is a little dry. It is the history of houses, from the point of view of architects, the growth of interior design, changing designs as people looked to sun-bathing and swimming, alongside traditional pastimes, such as hunting. There are scandals, the changes after WWI as people disliked working in service, and stories of house parties and cliques which grew around the extreme politics of the years between two world wars. Still, this more a history of the houses, than a social history, so was not as informal as the house parties held in the 1930's. You feel Tinniswood would not have folded back the carpet and played the Charlston, but then, most of those living in those houses did not embrace modernity, but rather took their roles in the community with a sense of tradition that this book mirrors.
October 16, 2023
Disappointing - mainly because the book is mistitled and doesn't do what it promises from the title: there is actually very little about the long weekend (which didn't really exist as a term, anyway, at the time which the book is purporting to trace).
Tinniswood rambles around and many of the chapters feel full of name-dropped personages who are never described or contextualised or characterised: if you're not thrilled by aristocratic names (I'm not) you might well wonder who these people are.
Some chapters focus far too much on house renovations and fashions of decoration; others record in dry detail exactly how many game birds were shot at various shooting parties (far, far too many).
What this generally lacks is life: if you want gossip, social interest, to know about the people who inhabited this rather rarefied world and how they spent their time - the real-life behind all those fictional 'big houses' and house-parties from the literature of the period, say - then this book doesn't deliver.
My favourite chapter was probably about Cecil Beaton and his rather louche guests but even this feels at arms-length and lacking in genuine human interest.
It feels to me as if the author jumbled together whatever information he could find which vaguely fit the remit rather than doing targeted and thoughtful research - and then put the whole thing together as a bit of a mish-mash of country house ephemera.
Tinniswood rambles around and many of the chapters feel full of name-dropped personages who are never described or contextualised or characterised: if you're not thrilled by aristocratic names (I'm not) you might well wonder who these people are.
Some chapters focus far too much on house renovations and fashions of decoration; others record in dry detail exactly how many game birds were shot at various shooting parties (far, far too many).
What this generally lacks is life: if you want gossip, social interest, to know about the people who inhabited this rather rarefied world and how they spent their time - the real-life behind all those fictional 'big houses' and house-parties from the literature of the period, say - then this book doesn't deliver.
My favourite chapter was probably about Cecil Beaton and his rather louche guests but even this feels at arms-length and lacking in genuine human interest.
It feels to me as if the author jumbled together whatever information he could find which vaguely fit the remit rather than doing targeted and thoughtful research - and then put the whole thing together as a bit of a mish-mash of country house ephemera.
November 21, 2023
The truth is that it's way more fun to visit a British country house or see it in a movie or BBC show than to read about it. This book is comprehensive in its coverage of what the country house experience was in the last decades of its heyday, but it's dull. It's like being invited to one of those houses, but one in which the host is just not very interesting. Not obnoxious or a braggart, just dull.
The book seems to cover everything that someone would want from a great tour guide of one of the homes. What did people wear -- was it always formal? What did they eat? When did they eat? What were favorite activities? Were there really clandestine affairs? Which were the most beautiful homes, the most majestic grounds, the deepest historic pedigree? What was a ball like? Did any of the homes have truly world-class art? And so on.
All this stuff is revealed, plus guest lists at some of the most illustrious weekends over the early decades of the 21st century. I must confess I have no idea what a viscount is or how that ranks compared to a duke. And I don't really care.
Quite simply, this book needs way more entertaining anecdotes, rather than the just-the-facts approach. I'd much rather watch "Downton Abbey" and read PG Wodehouse in order to get my fill of life in a country house, even if it's a lot less accurate than this book.
The book seems to cover everything that someone would want from a great tour guide of one of the homes. What did people wear -- was it always formal? What did they eat? When did they eat? What were favorite activities? Were there really clandestine affairs? Which were the most beautiful homes, the most majestic grounds, the deepest historic pedigree? What was a ball like? Did any of the homes have truly world-class art? And so on.
All this stuff is revealed, plus guest lists at some of the most illustrious weekends over the early decades of the 21st century. I must confess I have no idea what a viscount is or how that ranks compared to a duke. And I don't really care.
Quite simply, this book needs way more entertaining anecdotes, rather than the just-the-facts approach. I'd much rather watch "Downton Abbey" and read PG Wodehouse in order to get my fill of life in a country house, even if it's a lot less accurate than this book.
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