British Tradition and Interior Design: Town and Country Living in the British Isles

Rating:
Summary: How to be British #101
Review: I was given this book as a Christmas gift and have to say it's a great book, full of high-quality pictures and just the right amount of text for an evening read at the end of the day.

It did, however, remind me of the Sinatra song "You've either got or you haven't got style..", because, despite the excellent quality, the book begins as a description of interior design (which is good), but then appears to deviate into a 'style-guide', including the correct 'set menu' for a picnic, the brand of lawnmower used by the Queen and Prince of Wales, down to a section on the removal of Wellington Boots!!! Although the authors have been very thorough in their research, this part of the book diminishes the effectiveness of the section on interior design, in my opinion. I believe that 'British Tradition' is a little more flexible than is presented here.

Some would say that true understanding is not only knowing the rules but also knowing how and when they can be broken - if that's true, then this book is a great primer on the former. It's certainly an interesting read.