Overview

This book is a sumptuously produced journey around twelve privately owned country houses, asking what it is like to live in such places today. What role do they play in the twenty-first century? For many years after the Second World War, the country house was struggling. Now a new generation of young owners, often with children, has taken over. They're finding innovative ways to live in these ancient, fragile and poetic places. While they treasure the history and beauty of the houses, they're also adapting and enhancing them for a modern era. Old Homes, New Life is a behind-the-scenes account of today's aristocracy, as they reinvent the country house way of life. Each family does this in its own way, maintaining the tradition of individualism, even eccentricity, which is so much associated with country houses. Dylan Thomas's superb yet intimate photographs capture both the inhabitants of these houses and the spaces they occupy - from State dining to family kitchen, walled garden to attic. This feast for the eyes is accompanied by an equally mouth-watering text by Clive Aslet, based on interviews with family members and his long experience of the subject through his years as Editor of Country Life. The result is an exclusive tour of a dozen spectacular homes.

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9781916355408

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Reviews

Clive Aslet, former editor of Country Life, is less interested in the paintings, tapestries and furniture of these houses than in the people who live there.--Daily Mail, September 2020 Older than Highclere Castle and twice as notorious, Powderham Castle remains one of the hidden jewels of Britain's great country estates. After 600 years, a new book unlocks its secrets.--Town & Country US, September 2020 The book features a visual exploration of 12 unique houses in detail, providing a new perspective on their cultural and decorative significance.--Decorative Arts Society Magazine, December 2020 The tome is dedicated to the restoration and maintenance of the grand estates by the families who live in them.--Architectural Digest, June 2020 This book is .. a luscious, relaxing pleasure. Dylan Thomas's mouthwatering photographs.. are designed to comfort and reassure.--The Time, August, 2020 This superbly illustrated book features a dozen country houses that are truly family homes again.--Country Life, July, 2020 This visual feast of a book is an absolute must for anyone who has felt a frisson of excitement at spotting a pair of grand gates whilst driving down a country lane, intrigued by the house beyond. This behind-the scenes insight into today's aristocracy is overflowing with rich historical detail and endearing family anecdotes.--The English Home, August, 2020 We wanted to show more than the grand rooms you might see if you bought a ticket to tour the house. The idea was to uncover what these buildings mean to the families that call them home.--Departures US, June 2020 Whether Elizabethan manors or elegant Georgian halls, these architectural beauties offer history lessons, design inspiration - and the chance to snoop around someone else's incredible home.--Telegraph Luxury Online, July 2020

"The book features a visual exploration of 12 unique houses in detail, providing a new perspective on their cultural and decorative significance.-- ""The Decorative Arts Society, December, 2020"" Aslet, a distinguished architectural historian and longtime editor of Country Life magazine, and Thomas, an award-winning photographer, have taken a fresh approach by showcasing not the history or artistry of great houses, ... but rather how they currently function as family homes... A new coffee-table tome highlights the fresh faces of Britain's country estates... Thomas's elegant photographs, which capture each house bathed in natural light ... also show the families in casual at-home scenes, dressed for the country and barely distinguishable from any ordinary middle-class family.-- ""The American Conservative, February, 2021"" Clive Aslet, former editor of Country Life, is less interested in the paintings, tapestries and furniture of these houses than in the people who live there.-- ""Daily Mail, September 2020"" Older than Highclere Castle and twice as notorious, Powderham Castle remains one of the hidden jewels of Britain's great country estates. After 600 years, a new book unlocks its secrets.-- ""Town & Country US, September 2020"" The tome is dedicated to the restoration and maintenance of the grand estates by the families who live in them.-- ""Architectural Digest, June 2020"" This book is .. a luscious, relaxing pleasure. Dylan Thomas's mouthwatering photographs.. are designed to comfort and reassure.-- ""The Time, August, 2020"" This superbly illustrated book features a dozen country houses that are truly family homes again.-- ""Country Life, July, 2020"" This visual feast of a book is an absolute must for anyone who has felt a frisson of excitement at spotting a pair of grand gates whilst driving down a country lane, intrigued by the house beyond. This behind-the scenes insight into today's aristocracy is overflowing with rich historical detail and endearing family anecdotes.-- ""The English Home, August, 2020"" We wanted to show more than the grand rooms you might see if you bought a ticket to tour the house. The idea was to uncover what these buildings mean to the families that call them home.-- ""Departures US, June 2020"" Whether Elizabethan manors or elegant Georgian halls, these architectural beauties offer history lessons, design inspiration - and the chance to snoop around someone else's incredible home.-- ""Telegraph Luxury Online, July 2020"""

Author Information

Clive Aslet is an award-winning writer and journalist, acknowledged as a leading authority on Britain and its way of life. He joined the magazine Country Life in 1977 and was Editor for 13 years. Clive's many books include The Edwardian Country House (2012), a reprise of his first book, The Last Country Houses, which was published by Yale University Press in 1982. He has also written on country houses of the American Gilded Age, on British identity, on the countryside, and on the House of Lords. In 2014, Clive published his first novel, The Birdcage, set in Salonika during the First World War. Clive writes for newspapers such as The Times and The Daily Telegraph, and often broadcasts on television and radio. Well-known as a campaigner on the countryside and other issues, he is an Ambassador for the Woodland Trust, a Trustee of the charities Plantlife and The Lutyens Trust and a Fellow of the Humanities Research Institute of the University of Buckingham. In 2019, he co-founded Triglyph Books with the photographer Dylan Thomas. Clive is married with three children and lives in London and Ramsgate. Dylan Thomas is one of Britain's foremost photographers of people and interiors. He began work as an assistant to the internationally famous Lord Snowdon and has now forged an outstanding reputation with notable clients for highly detailed and technically complex work. Dylan is an expert interpreter of light and shadow with an acute awareness of the environment around him and a meticulous approach to composition. He captures individuals and places with spontaneity and an authentic timelessness that conveys both the mood and the message. Dylan Thomas Photography is an award-winning photography studio offering a diverse range of skills and services. Dylan travels the world on behalf of the major publishing houses in the US and Europe and his industry-leading client base is a testament to the unique personal investment he makes in any project, no matter the scale. He works uncompromisingly under pressure with accuracy and flexibility, always with good humour and sensitivity. In 2019 Dylan co-founded Triglyph Books with architectural historian and writer Clive Aslet. Dylan's professional life is based in London. He lives in Sussex with his wife and three young children where they embrace curiosity and adventure.

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