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Product Description
Product Description
The delightful, gossipy diaries of James Lees-Milne describe his encounters with the owners of country houses - from eccentric lords and oil millionaires to raffish socialists - as he travelled over England saving properties for the National Trust. Here are sharply observed accounts of dinner with Vita Sackville-West at Sissinghurst; Winston Churchill's bedroom at Chartwell; T. E. Lawrence's dilapidated Dorset cottage; and war damage to a great house in Derby. All are infused with his love of beauty and his sympathy for those giving up their ancestral homes forever.
Generations of inhabitants have helped shape the English countryside - but it has profoundly shaped us too.It has provoked a huge variety of responses from artists, writers, musicians and people who live and work on the land - as well as those who are travelling through it.English Journeys celebrates this long tradition with a series of twenty books on all aspects of the countryside, from stargazey pie and country churches, to man's relationship with nature and songs celebrating the patterns of the countryside (as well as ghosts and love-struck soldiers).
About the Author
James Lees-Milne (1908-97) made his name as the National Trust's country house expert, helping to rescue some of England's loveliest houses. He is now best known for his diaries, published in the 1970s and hailed as a masterpiece comparable to Pepys.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
I really enjoyed this small pamphlet style booklet. Lees-Milne is a scream and an absolute prime example of his vintage. Some say that he is very snobbish and upperclass with dreadfully old fashioned opinions - well, of course he is and that is why his diaries are such a success - he was writing about his own kind - but with a humourist twist. Can't wait to finish reading all the other diaries. Lovely.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
These wonderful snippets from a time we will never see again, of often quite eccentric ageing nobility and how they 'kept house' (OK, yes, I know there are still a few examples of those around these days... I've met at least one of them!). It is wonderful to read some of the nitty gritty on how these properties were perceived by a National Trust assessor as they slowly crumbled away through lack of funding, taxes, decline following the ravages by army possession during WWII and so forth. This guy was very fortunate in being personally acquainted with a number of the owners and their extended families, and often stayed as a favoured guest. It is a fun journey, and includes some great insights into properties that we are privileged to see first-hand these days, half of them now National Trust-owned, and half maintained by other means. I just wish I had this great little book to refer to when I've visited some of these locations, and hope I will remember it next time I get the chance.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Written in short paragraph style, the author relates the discussions and behind the scenes activities relating to houses endowed to the National Trust and those that weren't (for various reasons). The author's air of superiority pervades his writing which I found amusing but others may find irritating. Interesting to understand the problems behind endowments to the National Trust and the eccentricities of the landed gentry.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
One of my desert island books
Short though this book is, it would be one of the eight books I would take to my desert island. At least as fascinating as the houses JLM visits during his many years with the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. C. M. Greaves
A teasing taster
This is a little book. It can be swallowed at a sitting, but that would be a mistake. It is like a box of handmade sweets, each different and surprising. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Kit Stephens
Abridged J. L-M
This small paperback is best considered as a knap-sack filler for light additional reading for those about to visit the houses mentioned therein. Read more
Published 11 months ago by J. Nichols
Debt of Gratitude
I have always despised this man until I read this book and discovered what a great debt of gratitude we owed him.
Published 20 months ago by T. Appleton
Entertainingly snobbish
James Lees-Milne comes across in his numerous volumes of diaries as a thoroughly snobbish, upper crust personage who would have been happier living in the England of 150 years ago. Read more
Published on 9 Feb 2010 by Donald Hollins
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