Overview

Best known as the leading producers of Madeira wine, the Blandy firm is very much more than that, and the story of its growth and development over 200 years is a remarkable one. Founded on a remote Portugese island in the Atlantic in the last years of the Napoleonic War the company has never ceased to trade in the unique wine for which Madeira is so famous, but not many companies, after 200 years, are still owned and run by the same family, and the portfolio of businesses owned, developed and run by the family over the years includes many of the central concerns of the period - from coal and shipping to newspapers and hotels. Marcus Binney tells the remarkable story of this survival and growth with verve and insight. It is not a colonial adventure, for Madeira has always been Portugese (and with a fluctuating and often challenging political environment). And it has not been without its problems and mistakes. But in the end it is a remarkable account of how a remarkable family adapted their business and their expectations of it, to survive and flourish into the 21st century, and along the way to construct and conserve some impressive buildings and, especially, to develop and maintain an iconic and world famous product in one of the world's great wines.

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Reviews

There is never a dull moment in Marcus Binney's well-illustrated tale of the ups and downs of the family enterprise that Blandy founded; if you know someone who is a connoisseur of Madeira wine, this is the perfect book to give them to read as they sit and sip a wine that is as rich in history as it is in character and complexity. Salon Hooked me within the first few pages because it's beautifully written, meticulously researched aand actually brings you right into the very heart of the family. Blackpool Gazette A delightful book. Yorkshire Post

Author Information

Marcus Binney CBE is a British architectural historian and author. He is best known for his conservation work regarding Britain's heritage. He was Architecture Correspondent to the Times of London and founder and President of SAVE Britain's Heritage. He is the author of numerous books on British architecture.

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