The Great Houses of London Paperback – November 1, 2001

Excellent history of the London mansions, town houses, and palaces of the English aristocracy. The text gives a detailed history of the construction, renovations, and ownerships of these houses. My only disappointment is that almost all of the photos are black - and - white. That's probably not too surprising -- most of the photos were probably taken between around 1860 and 1930 and I don't think that color photography was all that common at that time (maybe even impossible). There are also quite a few copies of pen and ink drawings of the buildings from the period. Many of the buildings have been demolished since the photos were taken. That's likely because 100 to 300 year old buildings, no matter how noteworthy or grand, eventually become uncomfortable and outdated to live in. And, from an economic and political viewpoint, the old aristocracy faded after 1918 and especially after 1945 and could no longer afford such huge dwellings after the imposition of property, income, and inheritance taxes. But I think it was a fascinating era and this book provides a picture back into those times. You can read history books about the Dukes, Marquesses, and Earls who served as government ministers, but this book let's you see where and a little bit of how they lived. The book also gives an interesting history of the development of the high society areas of modern London: the Strand, Pall Mall, Mayfair, Belgravia, Picadilly, and so forth. Two, three, and four hundred years ago these were fields and country lanes.

This is a nice book... If you have 3 other books on the subject. I felt it missed more photos and did not contain any blueprints or floorplans. Especially because I have other books on mansions in NYC and other cities which are so detailed, that this one just felt poor on that respect. As an architect, I was expecting a little more technical data.I did find some awesome thing in the book: A 1923 photograph of the House of the Duke of Marlborough shows a statue now in possession of my parents. That was a pleasant surprise!

The book arrived on time and was in brand new condition. The price made it a great buy. I was disappointed in the way the book was written. I was especially disappointed with the lack of really interesting photographs as another but similar book to this .. I have nothing but praise about the seller and the product,DOC