The Private Life of a Country House
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- Create Date：2021-07-14 08:53:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Lesley Lewis
- ISBN：075246051X
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Summary
In this vivid memoir， Lesley Lewis gives a lucid account of how family life was lived in an English country house between the wars。 By concentrating on social and domestic details， on everyday events and on objects， she offers a rare insight into the now remote world of professional families， such as the Lawrences， and their households during the period。 The author remembers her house—Pilgrims' Hall in Essex—with exceptional clarity and affection。 The elaborate daily rhythm of the household， and the devoted skill of the servants who ran it， are faithfully brought back to life。 All her recollections are set in the context of the house itself。 She carefully recalls each of the main rooms， and describes the precious and ordinary objects they contained。 These strong memories are well illustrated by drawings and photographs。 The result is an intriguing and original glimpse into the recent English past， and the routines and traditions of a lost way of life。
Reviews
Susan
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This was a really interesting view of life。 I was suprised when she discussed being a guest in someone else's fancy house and having to decide between being late to dinner or to ring the bell and ask a servant to bring back her shoes or clothes。 I just assumed they didnt hesitate to demand service。 She didnt use the bell in her own home， it seemed like a young， single woman was not expected to be waited upon。 Also， they were required to tip the servants who did support them and since they didnt This was a really interesting view of life。 I was suprised when she discussed being a guest in someone else's fancy house and having to decide between being late to dinner or to ring the bell and ask a servant to bring back her shoes or clothes。 I just assumed they didnt hesitate to demand service。 She didnt use the bell in her own home， it seemed like a young， single woman was not expected to be waited upon。 Also， they were required to tip the servants who did support them and since they didnt have jobs they might not have enough to do that。 I gather her parents didnt have these concerns。 。。。more
Kelsey
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I found this utterly soothing and delightful。
Rho
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It was very slow。 I needed to reread sections to get all the details。 It is a loving memoir of the country house she grew up in between the two world wars。
Kelley Wickham-Crowley
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I can see why this book has been reprinted so many times: Lesley Lewis writes unsentimentally and in loving detail about the house of her childhood。 As she puts it， "Before the 1914-18 war eroded， and the 1939-45 one virtually destroyed， the whole system of domestic service and social habits which supported and was supported by the upper middle-class way of life， there were numerous objects and procedures which now make no sense at all。 Once it ceases to be used for its original purpose some sta I can see why this book has been reprinted so many times: Lesley Lewis writes unsentimentally and in loving detail about the house of her childhood。 As she puts it， "Before the 1914-18 war eroded， and the 1939-45 one virtually destroyed， the whole system of domestic service and social habits which supported and was supported by the upper middle-class way of life， there were numerous objects and procedures which now make no sense at all。 Once it ceases to be used for its original purpose some standard article may quickly become incomprehensible" （p。2）。 She walks us through the grounds and then the house， room by room， looking left and right， remembering objects now obsolete but fascinating as clues to what had to be done and how or which paintings hung where。 The book is full of her line sketches of rooms and objects， with a few faded photographs added in。 Her upper middle class family is not so grand as the truly upper class family of the fictional Downton Abbey but if you found the lives of those above and below stairs during and after WWI interesting， much here will echo and perhaps even explain its social customs and hierarchy， not to mention the large staff of servants。 Lewis is as likely to describe in clear detail games played as to explain where everything was in the dining room， right down to the little curtain put between the butler's carving tray and the wall so as to catch any splatters。 She describes which conveyances drawn by horse were used for what or driven by whom and the hunting enjoyed。 Most of those horses were taken away for WWI never to return--which occasions the rise of the automobile in the household， though walking remains the main mode of transport for anywhere within a few miles。 And we get to see how a child would see life in the house， generally sequestered away in the nursery and the schoolroom （and always unused to the rare large gatherings elsewhere as a result） until free to wander outside。 She evokes the intimacy of a life in the country lived within a large household in relative and rural isolation， yet 20 miles from London where her father worked。 Though not much educated in her youth， she was sent at 17 to French finishing school and afterwards persuaded her father to let her be one of the earliest students in the now-famous Courtauld Institute。 Her degrees in art history served her well and her architectural and artifactual coverage make this a lovely read。 。。。more
Liz
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The author was born in 1909 and lived to age 100 in 2010。 She was presented at court in 1927 to King George V and Queen Mary。 In this book she describes room by room the house she lived in from the age of four。 Along with the descriptions of the rooms and their furnishings we get a glimpse of what life was like。 A favorite line describing what they ate:"Wednesday lunch would be another joint， almost invariably mutton， either roast， with onion or mint sauce， or boiled with caper sauce， a dish app The author was born in 1909 and lived to age 100 in 2010。 She was presented at court in 1927 to King George V and Queen Mary。 In this book she describes room by room the house she lived in from the age of four。 Along with the descriptions of the rooms and their furnishings we get a glimpse of what life was like。 A favorite line describing what they ate:"Wednesday lunch would be another joint， almost invariably mutton， either roast， with onion or mint sauce， or boiled with caper sauce， a dish appreciated by grown-ups but abhorred by all right-thinking children。"I thought this was very well-written and it definitely kept my interest。 。。。more
Lou Faulkner
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A window on a lost world - the world of moneyed privilege and illusory security in the early years of last century。 The author gives a portrait of her home so detailed that I could see every scene， inside and out。 Immersive and charming。
Michael Smith
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The author， an established art historian and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries， was born in 1909 into a professional family， legal men of long standing on one side and military men on the other， who had become part of the minor gentry。 （Her paternal aunt was one of the first women Members of Parliament。） Through her 20s， she lived at Pilgrims’ Hall in Essex， which she describes as a “minor country house。” They regarded themselves as anonymous， very private people， the sort who assiduously avo The author， an established art historian and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries， was born in 1909 into a professional family， legal men of long standing on one side and military men on the other， who had become part of the minor gentry。 （Her paternal aunt was one of the first women Members of Parliament。） Through her 20s， she lived at Pilgrims’ Hall in Essex， which she describes as a “minor country house。” They regarded themselves as anonymous， very private people， the sort who assiduously avoid the “unspeakably egotistical” first-person pronoun by referring to themselves as “one。” Lewis respects this privacy and cultivated lack of domestic drama by focusing here not on the people， especially， but on the home itself and on “the things we used。” She and her sisters were taught at home by governesses and then packed off to a finishing school in Paris， but this lack of formal， institutional education obviously didn’t hurt her。 At the age of eighteen， she says， she did what all her contemporaries did， if they could afford it -- hunted “when there was a horse to be had，” played tennis， went to dances， and stayed at each other’s houses， all of which were run by similar methods。 By 1939， though， her studious side had taken over。 She was living in the Metropolis and had acquired several degrees from the University of London， and then clerked in and managed the family law firm during WWII。The book takes the form of a room-by-room tour of the new house to which the family moved when the author was four years old， just at the beginning of the Great War， from the front hall and the drawing room， back through to the bedrooms and schoolroom， and out through the kitchen into the small estate and home farm。 Often， her description of an tool or piece of furniture （such as the hall table where visiting cards collected） leads to a discussion of social activities （the requirement for and etiquette of formal visits） or to childhood reminiscences （such as her much-coveted permission to do projects in the garden potting shed）。 Lewis has an amazing memory （or perhaps a well-trained one， given her later profession）， aided by numerous line drawings。 In addition to material things， she also describes the process of living， growing up， and being home-educated in such a house， all of it written clearly and with frequent quiet humor。The family had only a few servants， Lewis says -- though the staff photo of 1913 shows a group of eleven。 The Great War， of course， seriously eroded the whole domestic service system and the second war destroyed it utterly。 Lewis describes each of the staff as individuals and outlines their various duties -- which， by this time， overlapped considerably， largely because most of the men had gone off to the army and those who remained had to make do。This is a excellent overview of life in the lower ranks of the not-quite-upper class and provides a useful companion （and possibly a corrective） to the many books on the anthropology of much larger country homes two or three generations earlier。 。。。more
Sonia Gensler
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