PrefaceSurvival & revivalSir Walter Scott The age of Abbotsford The broad stone of honour Radical chivalry The Eglinton tournamentVictoria & AlbertMuscular chivalry A mid-century miscellany The public schools The return of ArthurModern courtly love Knights of the empirePlaying the game Chivalry of the people The chivalrous gentlemenThe great warNotes to the TextIndexPhotographic Acknowledgments
Mark Girouard Books
This British author specializes in writing about architecture and is an established authority on the country house. His work delves deeply into architectural history and also includes biographical accounts of notable figures. Readers will appreciate his detailed knowledge and engaging style, which brings architectural heritage to life.






Life in the English Country House
A Social and Architectural History
The English country house has flourished over the centuries because of its ability to adapt to the changes in English society. This book is an account of the ways in which the upper-class life style were reflected in the houses in which the wealthy and powerful lived. First published in 1978, this is a history of the English country house from the point of view of its owners and users. Ranging from the Middle Ages to the world of Evelyn Waugh, the author also discusses and illustrates how the life of the upper classes shaped their country hosues, how they entertained and were served, how they ran the country and their estates and how they reconciled personal privacy and public display.
The Victorian Country House
- 448 pages
- 16 hours of reading
A study of Britain's great nineteenth-century houses examines their architects, and the social, technological, and economic conditions that made the massive structures possible
An account of upper class French society through the centuries showing how its setting - the chateaux and manoirs of the French countryside evolved in concert with their inhabitants.
Cities & People
- 401 pages
- 15 hours of reading
This social and aesthetic history of the world's major cities from antiquity to the present focuses on crucial periods of the cities' past and examines their architecture in light of the men and women who used it
By looking at England's cathedral towns, Regency spas and industrial cities, and at their market squares, docks, council chambers and assembly rooms, the author traces the development of English towns through the centuries
Friendships
- 192 pages
- 7 hours of reading
A selective autobiography of the most successful, most celebrated and most important architectural historian of his generation. Elegant and moving reminiscences with significant Irish, catholic and architectural resonance by a well established and much loved writer with many successful books in the catalogue.
Historic houses of Britain
- 185 pages
- 7 hours of reading
Shows and describes the history of British palaces, castles, manors, and mansions in Britain, and includes profiles of the people associated with each home



