Ranging from Kentchurch Court, a former fortified medieval manor house that has been the seat of the Scudamore family for nearly 1,000 years, to a delightful Strawberry Hill-style Gothic house in rural Cornwall and car-crazed Goodwood House, this beautifully illustrated book showcases ten outstanding British country houses, all still in the hands of the original families. James Peill recounts the ups and downs of such deep-rooted clans as the Cracrofts, landowners in Lincolnshire since the 12th century, whose late 18th-century Hackthorn Hall is a perfect example of the kind of house Jane Austen describes in her novels (indeed, she appears on their family tree), as well as the relatively newly arrived Biddulphs, who constructed Rodmarton, an Arts & Crafts masterpiece, in the first decades of the last century. James Fennell has once again provided superb photographs of a wealth of gardens, charming interiors, bygone sporting trophies, fine art collections and fanciful family memorabilia, making The English Country House a delicious treat for Anglophiles and lovers of old houses.

'Delightful' A HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR / BOOK OF THE WEEK, Daily Mail 'Goodwood curator James Peill writes with a wonderfully light touch . . . The Goodwood story is extraordinary and rightly celebrated' Country Life The history of Goodwood, England's greatest sporting estate Goodwood has been the home of English sport for centuries. The story of how a small hunting lodge became the iconic location for the globally-renowned Festival of Speed, Glorious Goodwood and Goodwood Revival events is inextricably intertwined with the tale of the Dukes of Richmond. The Dukes were, variously, patrons of the arts, political influencers, royal confidantes, architectural innovators, horticultural enthusiasts and stewards of the community. Above all, they were passionate about the sports for which Goodwood is best known: horseracing, motor sports, foxhunting, cricket, shooting and golf. Drawing upon the wealth of the Goodwood archives, James Peill vividly captures the character of each Duke, some radical and others staunchly traditional, and the wide-ranging impact they had on the Goodwood of today. The broader context is a sweeping history of England, and one family's part in it. Beginning with Charles II and his mistress Louise de Keroualle, the parents of the first Duke, Glorious Goodwood takes the reader on a journey through time, from the seventeenth century to present day, via the Jacobite Rising, the Battle of Waterloo and the First and Second World Wars. There are cameo appearances from George Stubbs, Canaletto, Alexander, Emperor of Russia, Queen Victoria, Jackie Stewart and Edward VII, who famously hosted Privy Council meetings in the Tapestry Drawing Room during race week. Glorious Goodwood is a vivid and intimate portrait of a house and its inhabitants set against a dazzling, panoramic backdrop of English history. At the heart of this colourful and compelling story is a rich sense of the British heritage Goodwood embodies.