I enjoyed reading this book and I learned a lot. The book is about English Country Estates after World War II. As the old families fell and new families took over their estates. The book is well written with lots of photographs and illustrations. There is also fun gossip about the rich behaving badly. Enjoy

A solid and interesting exploration of the subject material. Some people may find it dry or exceptionally niche in tone.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I really enjoyed reading it the plot was interesting and the characters made me want to know more about them. I highly recommend.

Wonderfully Readable…
A wonderfully readable account of the post war country house combining an academic approach with the purely entertaining. It’s enjoyable, interesting and often amusing. Compiled in snappy chapters for maximum readability.

i learned a lot in this book, it was a interesting topic and it felt like the author did the research and was passionate with this project.

A great, well researched look at the gorgeous country houses of England. Any fan of Downton Abbey would love this books as it explores what happens to this majestic homes after World War II.

The Historical Novels Review, November 2021:

The decline of the English country houses commenced with an accumulation of events beginning in the late 1890s. There was an agricultural depression and then burdensome death duties were implemented which only increased over the years. The lifestyle of the privileged class with their extravagant living, elaborate mansions, castles, and manors was not a system that could continue to hold up. They tried shoring up their lifestyle with infusions of money through American marriage, mortgages, and selling off valuables and land. After WWI when domestic labor became scarce, the decline accelerated. Tinniswood describes the creative, desperate measures taken by owners to hold on to their homes, but in the end, many had to let them go. Hundreds of stately homes, many of national importance, were demolished or sold in the interwar years and following WWII. Many were repurposed as museums, hospitals, schools, government buildings, or turned over to the National Trust. The homes that were requisitioned for war purposes, WWI and/or WWII, were returned in deplorable condition, further burdening owners with costs of repair and restoration.

With each chapter focusing on a specific topic such as the role played during the wars, keeping up appearances, reducing size, modernizing, post war interior design, tourism, bad behavior, menageries, and more, Tinniswood takes an in-depth look into the people, homes, and surrounding events over nearly a century. Photos, mainly of the owners of these homes, are included, but more photos of these majestic homes would have been welcome – prior to destruction and those that still stand. Noble Ambitions paints an intriguing mosaic of people and country homes from a bygone era trying to survive in a modern world.

There is something about the idea of inheriting a massive family estate with a palace-sized home that seems incredibly romantic… until you start to think about death duties, refurbishment and repairs, taxes, and so on. English country homes are having a bit of a resurgence in the 20th century- so many remaining homes are open to the public, either through the National Trust or open privately, and they are incredibly popular tourist destinations. Whenever the history of these homes is covered, it tends to stop with the Second World War, sometimes earlier. However, Tinniswood begings with WWII, and takes us through to the present!

We get a peek into what refurbishing and redecorating a stately home looks like and the different organisations that are often involved (like the National Trust) He delves into when and how a family decides to sell part or all of an estate- always a complex decision that gets reduced in the retelling. And my favourite- the behind the scenes stories of those balls and parties that feature in shows like The Crown!

One of the highlights for me was absolutely the Irish coverage. As someone who has studied both early and modern Irish history, Ireland tends to sit in limbo as “not quite English”. However, there were/are many Irish country houses! And while much of their history is similar to their English cousins, they have their own history, and I appreciated that Tinniswood specifically covered them.

A fascinating history of the decline of the English country house, primarily in the post-World War II period. Soaring death duties, coupled with rapid social change, signaled the long overdue downfall (to a certain extent) of the British upper class. As houses were turned over to trusts, opened for tours, and sold to people with money rather than purported "class," the nature of country house changed. While the loss of architectural treasures, artwork, and furniture is tragic, the change in the structure of English society is not. (although the worldwide fascination with royalty shows how slow change really is). #NobleAmbitions #NetGalley

*4.5 stars*

Rollicking jaunt through historic English homes…

And it was fun! The book centered around the declining fortunes of some of the most historic families in England and their accompanying estates. Grand mansions, sprawling properties – all of it was threatened by many factors (war, mismanagement, incredibly high inheritance taxes, etc.) and their declines were sad to read about. What stopped it from being too morose was the ingenuity of those who refused to give up. From flower power hippie festivals to guided tours, to offering their beautiful homes as backdrops for movies, owners tried anything and everything to hold off losing their heritage.

Those stories of survival (mostly) were shared with great detail, often with humour, and some gossipy, trivia details that made the telling more real. I don’t think I’ve even visited a grand estate, so the trials of the rich (if not famous) is not something I’m usually concerned with. The author, however, not only made me care about the homes and their fates but also admire those who did everything to save them.

An entertaining read!

*I happily reviewed this book
**Thank you to NetGalley

Beautiful old manor houses, armies of servants, glittering balls, weekend parties - this is how English aristocrats and the nouveau riche once lived. Agricultural depression, death duties, wars, and governments mostly put an end to this extravagant life from the last part of the nineteenth century, however. Adrian Tinniswood studies this lifestyle and its decline in this fascinating book, perfect for lovers of "Downton Abbey".

The book is mainly about the fall of these great country houses, but there are lots of interesting anecdotes and gossip along the way. For example, there is a whole chapter on interior design, and one interior designer wouldn't even look twice at a would-be customer who wasn't an aristocrat! There are lots of stories about famous landed families, such as the Thynnes.

I always enjoy Adrian Tinniswood's books, and this was no exception.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

A non-fiction book mostly about grand country houses in Britain with a few mentions of houses located in Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
I love reading fiction books that feature old houses through the years. I was very interested in this book especially how it described country houses and the people who lived in them.
Its sad to think that so many old country homes were destroyed because their owners could not afford to pay their repair bills or be able to afford the cost of servants.
This book covers all aspects of the difficulties of owning and living in a old house from financial difficulties, death duties, shortages of building materials and staff shortages with a sprinkling of juicy gossip about some of the people who lived in the houses or visited them.

A well-researched history of the English country manor houses owned by nobility and upper-class members of British society, Noble Ambitions perfectly encapsulates the decline of stately living. Everyone loves the idea of a well-appointed luxurious life of servants in a grand home full of art and artifacts, but the cost of this lifestyle was tremendous. As families could no longer afford the opulent status of maintaining a secondary residence, many were abandoned, turned over to the government, repurposed or even destroyed. A story of transition and changing times, the allure of beauty and the constraints of upkeep showcase excess as both an aspiration and a hindrance to progress and equality. I would love to see this book in the gift shop of historical homes. It has a niche audience of Downton Abbey fans or The Pursuit of Love fans, so it could make a great connection to that audience.

4 stars. Highly enjoyable history for anyone who is a fan of Downton Abbey and wonders what happens to those kinds of estates after WW2.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my unbiased opinion. My opinions are my own and not influenced by anyone. Ever.

Well researched and highly detailed, I knew I wanted to read this book but I had no idea how fascinating I would find it. Very enjoyable and engrossing. The history is fascinating, the gossip was unexpected and fun; Noble Ambitions is one of the most interesting books I’ve read this year.


My thanks to Perseus Books and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book. Opinions shared are influenced by nothing other than my reading experience.

Formatting in EPUB provided ruined many of the pictures and made the text almost impossible to follow. A shame because the subject matter seemed interesting. I'll be trying for the physical bookonce it is out.

I thank netgalley and Perseus Books, Basic Books for providing me with a complementary eARC of Noble Ambitions The Fall and Rise of the English Country House After World War II.

Check my review about this book on goodreads and booksta using links below:

goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4062307942?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

booksta:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSFgwE9BSKf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The magnanimous English country houses belonging to peers, and nobles run back centuries. With ample staff and servants to maintain these humongous and aesthetic structures, they were a sight to see and a pride to live in and hold and pass on the legacy to the next generation.

In this well-researched and detailed book, Adrian describes the crumbling of such houses due to various reasons that cropped up during the two wars. The two wars and the beginning of modernization, availability of myriad jobs that provided security, the slow downfall of the nobles financially lead to one question which not many would have thought would be important. What happens to the colossal country houses that once housed the elite nobles, owned by their families for centuries?
These colossal houses were given in the service of the war efforts while the owners lived in the same wings of the houses separately while the other parts were used for intended purposes. Due to financial issues of maintaining these structures, sometimes they were given on rent. Irrespective of the owner being well of or not at the time of the war, these houses were neglected and used without any concern, There were cases of jeeps going down the staircases, dry rots, leaky roofs and the list goes on. Death tax was another huge burden that the future peers had to face. Rising costs, inability to maintain and restore the damage caused, these houses were up for sale, but due to lack of modern facilities, it was another hurdle to sell them away.

Adrian Tinniswood has brilliantly written the fall and the rise of these structures which hold a significant importance in the life of it's owners as well as from historical perspective.

I didn't realize how interesting English country houses were until I started reading this book, but I was very pleasantly surprised and totally engrossed. I especially loved the chapter about Royal houses. If you watch Downton Abbey or read much pre-and post-war British historical fiction, you'll appreciate the struggles these families went through to keep their ancestral homes despite changing politics and outrageous death duties.

I initially wanted to read this book since I’m a fan of English country houses and wanted to learn more about the houses I’ve visited in my historical fiction hobby. I was in for a big surprise as this book not only revealed the burden of maintaining and running an English country home post-war but also introduced me to the gossip that I never expected to experience.
Loved the author’s writing style and depth of research and I’m looking forward to checking out his other works!

A really interesting look at country homes that are now falling apart .The owners most have inherited the homes from their families can not afford to keep these homes up.Many donatethehomes to the country to avoid upkeep and estate taxes.This was a fun informative read I will be recommending.#netgalley #nobleambitions.