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Review
`The Knole house has been the aristocratic seat of the Sackvilles since 1604. This is the story of the house and its inhabitants' --Daily Telegraph
`Inheritance is less a love affair with a house than a rather unstarry tale of family squabbles and minor statesmanship, a history with little laughter and slim snatches of gaiety . . . [Sackville-West] succeeds in breathing humanity into Knole's forbidding Kentish stone. . . An appealing human history'
--Kate Colquhoun, Sunday Times
`A graceful and thoroughly researched history that freely acknowledges, without attempt at rivalry, its debt to a glorious predecessor: Vita Sackville-West's intense, romantic hymn to the home that she unappeasably adored.' --Miranda Seymour, Guardian
`Witty, English and crisp, with a poetic lilt that not only makes one want to read about Knole (whatever one's views on aristocracy) but move in. . . That Knole fascinated and irritated its inhabitants as much as any lover is vividly described, while those same inhabitants "left their smells and spores behind in the dust."'
--Sunday Telegraph
`On the evidence of his charming, tolerant and humorous book, though, for a Sackville he seems surprisingly well adjusted' --Lucy Worsley, Eastern Daily Press
`The author deals with his ancestors with candour... a very lively book... Robert Sackville-West keeps a light entertaining touch but he is conscious of the darker downside to what others might consider the unmerited good luck, the unearned status and esteem of inheriting a stately home.'
--Peter Lewis, Daily Mail
`It is the definitive modern account of a great house and family ... refreshingly retold with much new detail, anecdote and scandal' --John Martin Robinson, Literary Review
`Sackville-West rattles through his family history at a judicious pace, artfully avoiding getting bogged down in any one period'
--Matthew Bell, Independent on Sunday
`Sure to enchant and delight readers. The author pens candid, intelligent, insightful mini-biographies of the various residents, giving readers a glimpse into England's aristocratic heritage while whetting anglophiles' appetites to see Knole for themselves.' --Publishers' Weekly
`Inheritance is not only a family history. It is a contribution to the history of the English aristocracy.'
--Raymond Carr, Spectator
`Knole is not merely a house. It is an embodiment of history. . . Mr Sackville-West writes with great panache. . . Not a word is wasted and every page is full of interest' --A. N. Wilson, Country Life
`The author takes us through his ancestors and their various land deals with a sturdy pen ... The stage is set for the prancing bisexuals of the Bloomsbury group . . . before bringing us into the present age with the acquisition of Knole by the National Trust in 1946'
--1946' Duncan Fallowell, Daily Express
`Inheritance is less a love affair with a house than a rather unstarry tale of family squabbles and minor statesmanship, a history with little laughter and slim snatches of gaiety . . . [Sackville-West] succeeds in breathing humanity into Knole's forbidding Kentish stone. . . An appealing human history'
--Kate Colquhoun, Sunday Times
`A graceful and thoroughly researched history that freely acknowledges, without attempt at rivalry, its debt to a glorious predecessor: Vita Sackville-West's intense, romantic hymn to the home that she unappeasably adored.' --Miranda Seymour, Guardian
`Witty, English and crisp, with a poetic lilt that not only makes one want to read about Knole (whatever one's views on aristocracy) but move in. . . That Knole fascinated and irritated its inhabitants as much as any lover is vividly described, while those same inhabitants "left their smells and spores behind in the dust."'
--Sunday Telegraph
`On the evidence of his charming, tolerant and humorous book, though, for a Sackville he seems surprisingly well adjusted' --Lucy Worsley, Eastern Daily Press
`The author deals with his ancestors with candour... a very lively book... Robert Sackville-West keeps a light entertaining touch but he is conscious of the darker downside to what others might consider the unmerited good luck, the unearned status and esteem of inheriting a stately home.'
--Peter Lewis, Daily Mail
`It is the definitive modern account of a great house and family ... refreshingly retold with much new detail, anecdote and scandal' --John Martin Robinson, Literary Review
`Sackville-West rattles through his family history at a judicious pace, artfully avoiding getting bogged down in any one period'
--Matthew Bell, Independent on Sunday
`Sure to enchant and delight readers. The author pens candid, intelligent, insightful mini-biographies of the various residents, giving readers a glimpse into England's aristocratic heritage while whetting anglophiles' appetites to see Knole for themselves.' --Publishers' Weekly
`Inheritance is not only a family history. It is a contribution to the history of the English aristocracy.'
--Raymond Carr, Spectator
`Knole is not merely a house. It is an embodiment of history. . . Mr Sackville-West writes with great panache. . . Not a word is wasted and every page is full of interest' --A. N. Wilson, Country Life
`The author takes us through his ancestors and their various land deals with a sturdy pen ... The stage is set for the prancing bisexuals of the Bloomsbury group . . . before bringing us into the present age with the acquisition of Knole by the National Trust in 1946'
--1946' Duncan Fallowell, Daily Express
Review
Shortlisted for the Longman-History Today Award 2010 'It has the deep inward gaiety of some very old woman who has always been beautiful, who has had many lovers and seen many generations come and go, smiled wisely over their sorrows and their joys, and learnt an imperishable secret of tolerance and humour' Vita Sackville-West
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
48 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Inheritance is the story of a house and a family over 400 years of British history.
Robert Sackville-West combines meticulous scholarship with an easy readable style - a combination not often seen. He also manages to achieve a historian's detachment and respect for the facts despite being the heir to the Sackville name and to Knole.
This book is above all a damn good read. The author keeps us turning the page, eager to learn what comes next in the extraordinary history of an English aristocratic family and one of the grandest homes in the land.
The book is mercifully free from either hagiography or sentimentality. I recommend it heartily.
Robert Sackville-West combines meticulous scholarship with an easy readable style - a combination not often seen. He also manages to achieve a historian's detachment and respect for the facts despite being the heir to the Sackville name and to Knole.
This book is above all a damn good read. The author keeps us turning the page, eager to learn what comes next in the extraordinary history of an English aristocratic family and one of the grandest homes in the land.
The book is mercifully free from either hagiography or sentimentality. I recommend it heartily.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
My husband bought me this book for our anniversary. I've always loved The Knole, and the beautiful deer park it's nestled in - so this book gave me a proper insight into the family that built and lived in it. Having been born & bred in Kent, I could really appreciate the Sackville's love for the county - even though their burial vault is in a tiny church in East Sussex!!! The Sackville's are an interesting bunch...lots of juicy scandals, and "friendships" - at times I forgot I was reading a biography and thought I was reading a novel! I would certainly recommend this book to anyone with a love of History - and if you just happen to love The Knole as much as I do - you won't be disappointed. Enjoy!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Studying History at Oxford must have given Robert Sackville West suitable ammunition to undertake this book for which, as 7th Lord Sackville, he has a headlong advantage !
What strikes me most about this book is the evenhandedness meted out to ancestors and their friends and followers. Without in any way covering up for foibles and failures there seems to be no axe to grind, no personal judgement expressed in this very honest history of Knole. It is touching also that Robert (on his own account) is on good terms with the National Trust who now own the house, as they have been criticised for becoming too much of a marketing brand like the late not overlamented Trust House Forte !
If you are like me, you will have to refer very frequently to the Family Tree, suitably provided before the Preface, because the successions are more than once a little complicated, and this display helps establish the proper backbone to the story. The colour plates of ancestral portraits and family photographs are also well chosen and add to the enjoyment of the book.
The book is almost in two halves : the first part involving considerable work with historical archives, and the second much more reliant on family letters and reminiscences. The latter start with the extraordinary story of Lionel, the 2ed Lord Sackville's romantic alliance with a dancer, commonly known as Pepita, and the book from that point on practically seems to run on greased tracks, with Vita Sackville West and her friend Virginia Woolf having latterly contributed so much to our knowledge of Knole by their novels and personal correspondence.
I can thoroughly recommend this book although a desire to be historically accurate has had ascendency over the potential to mischievously exploit the humour in certain stories.
What strikes me most about this book is the evenhandedness meted out to ancestors and their friends and followers. Without in any way covering up for foibles and failures there seems to be no axe to grind, no personal judgement expressed in this very honest history of Knole. It is touching also that Robert (on his own account) is on good terms with the National Trust who now own the house, as they have been criticised for becoming too much of a marketing brand like the late not overlamented Trust House Forte !
If you are like me, you will have to refer very frequently to the Family Tree, suitably provided before the Preface, because the successions are more than once a little complicated, and this display helps establish the proper backbone to the story. The colour plates of ancestral portraits and family photographs are also well chosen and add to the enjoyment of the book.
The book is almost in two halves : the first part involving considerable work with historical archives, and the second much more reliant on family letters and reminiscences. The latter start with the extraordinary story of Lionel, the 2ed Lord Sackville's romantic alliance with a dancer, commonly known as Pepita, and the book from that point on practically seems to run on greased tracks, with Vita Sackville West and her friend Virginia Woolf having latterly contributed so much to our knowledge of Knole by their novels and personal correspondence.
I can thoroughly recommend this book although a desire to be historically accurate has had ascendency over the potential to mischievously exploit the humour in certain stories.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Connective tissue
An absorbing way to chart your path through English politics and society in the late 18th century is through Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. Read more
Published 5 days ago by Mr. J. Morris
good book
lovely book, a readers copy so someone else enjoyed it. well packaged and promptly sent. i dont need twent words to review a package
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. Jennifer Caister
Knole & the Sackvilles
Very interesting details / background for those with an interst in Knole and the Sackville family. Patronage of the Kings and other wealthy people have been instrumental in keeping... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Albert
Inheriting this book
This is a sharp, laid back little treasure - which you may leave round the house for interest or keep under your belt for your own children to inherit. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Simon Pea
A very fine history
Whether you're new to the Knole story, or already fascinated by it - for fascinating it certainly is - this is a terrific read. An intellectual page-turner.
Published 13 months ago by attic critic
The story of the Sackvilles and Knole
This is an inside story of many generations of Sackvilles and their attachment to Knole. The author states that however timeless the phrase Knole and the Sackvilles may seem, its... Read more
Published 23 months ago by J. Suyderhoud
wonderful
A fascinating and well researched slice of history-I am looking forward to visiting Knowle in person now-well done for taking the time to write this.
Published 24 months ago by avid british reader
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