Those of you who are smitten with the fabulous house, lifestyle and intrigues of Downton Abbey will enjoy a new addition to our collection. The Edwardian Country House provides “an intimate portrait of an opulent age”.

In the opening chapter you learn that the courting of American heiresses by English peers was common practice. “Courting” is a word too gentle for what amounted to an arranged marriage that exchanged wealth for title.

Although servants were well paid (and certainly well fed) by the standards of the day, changes in appreciation of social status – among other reasons – made for fewer workers who were willing to go into service. The author looks at the technological advances that allowed owners to make do without an army of servants. Developments like electric lights, refrigeration, washing machines and telephones had a huge impact on the running of these large homes.

Photos illustrate lovely interiors and gardens and reveal extremes of style and comfort. You see the cozy, inviting garden room at Nymans layered in oriental carpets, tapestries and cushions. At the other end of the spectrum is the fabulous carved-marble Indian Hall at Elveden, called the coldest room in the country.

Next up for me is a book recommended by a staff friend: Cobwebs and Cream Teas, a memoir about life in the National Trust House of Febrigg Hall. I think I might be dwelling in the past.

- Jane

If you have a weakness for the English country style of decorating you will enjoy the newest book from veteran design writer, Ros Byam Shaw: Perfect English Farmhouse.

The homes presented are labours of love. She tells the stories of how they were acquired and the work that went into making them places fit for the glossy pages of a design book.

Often, they begin like the tale of a love story. The house is glimpsed and the person smitten. A house is pursued, or even “stalked”, until the buyer possesses the object of desire.

The houses presented are no longer part of working farms but have been separated from properties that are now consolidated into larger holdings to make them economically viable. The owners tend to be writers and artists, shop owners and antique dealers.

These homes have the character and patina that comes with age and feature many of the characteristics associated with the genre. There are mellow bricks and beams, tiled floors, enameled Aga cookers and faded chintz. Buildings are nestled into charming gardens where hybrid chickens scratch at the bricks in the sun-dappled courtyard.

For those who are fans of country-modern style, the section, No Frills Farmhouse, shows fabulous old houses with interior furnishings that are spare and contemporary.

I want Becca and Bill to invite me for tea in their lovely long kitchen/sitting room. Sigh. It’s all a fantasy world of idyllic English country living.

- Jane

My recent infatuation with 18^th Century Britain began with Mary Delany’s biography by poet Molly Peacock. Delany was an artist who created an impressive collection of botanical collages which are housed today in the British museum. Next came Joyner’s Dream, a novel with companion CD by Sylvia Tyson.

Recently, a friend (and former CPL colleague) recommended Garrow’s Law, a British television series; I was eager to check it out.

William Garrow (1760 - 1840) was an English barrister who transformed the rights of the accused in the British courtroom. At the time of his practice, English society was a rough place, plagued with violent crime. Policing was accomplished by “thief takers” – essentially bounty hunters – who were rewarded by convictions. Conviction brought severe punishment (flogging, branding or hanging) for crimes considered minor today.

The system also encouraged the admission of dubious evidence and severely limited a barrister’s ability to defend a client. It was plagued with political corruption and interference masked by a veneer of formal manners and restrictive social convention. To me, evil in a cloak of good manners is even more sinister.18th Century English life portrayed by Hogarth

Bonus: Garrow had an unconventional personal life that adds romance to the story.

This historical drama reveals both how far we have come and how much things stay the same.

To further immerse yourself in the English society that Garrow inherited, take a look at the many books we have about artist William Hogarth (1697-1764). Hogarth satirized the corruption, hypocrisy and prejudice of English society in works like the Harlot’s Progress and the Rake’s Progress.

Explore the setting of domestic life with The English House by James Chamber and The Town House in Georgian London by Rachel Stewart.