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From stately homes and prisons to the House of Lords and Edwardian asylums—the stories, spanning the 20th century, of the disintegrating fortunes of three of Britain’s most illustrious aristocratic dynasties and the scapegraces responsible
Splendour & Squalor traces the disintegration of three aristocratic dynasties through the twentieth century: families who seemingly had everything yet decided to take 'the down-escalator of life.' They include the Montagus, Dukes of Manchester, who had once employed Vanburgh—creator of Blenheim Palace, Churchill's birthplace—to remodel their principal family seat, Kimbolton Castle; shortly before the outbreak of World War II, the Montagus oversaw further renovation—converting the Kimbolton chapel into a bar, and stocking it with glasses decorated with 'pornography of the most interesting kind,' for the benefit of guests like the restless, bisexual Duke of Kent, younger brother of George VI. Four consecutive generations of the family went to jail. The Herveys, Marquesses of Bristol, went inside too, although John Bristol (7th Marquess of Bristol, born 1954; died 1999) spent most of his time investing his inheritance in helicopters, heroin, and—for strictly recreational purposes—handcuffs: a blazing quest for self-gratification which led him into the company of Andy Warhol and Mick Jagger. Splendour & Squalor offers a riveting insight into the disintegration of a once seemingly impregnable elite. The resultant portrait is the authentic Downton Abbey—stripped of gloss, mythology and sentiment, and brought mercilessly up-to-date.
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Splendour & squalor: the disgrace and disintegration of three aristocratic dynasties
2010, Atlantic, Atlantic Books
in English
1843541254 9781843541257
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Splendour & squalor: the disgrace and disintegration of three aristocratic dynasties
2009, Atlantic Books
in English
1843541246 9781843541240
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3
Splendour and Squalor: The Disgrace and Disintegration of Three Aristocratic Dynasties
2009, Atlantic Books, Limited
in English
1848874855 9781848874855
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Book Details
Edition Notes
Originally published: 2009.
Formerly CIP.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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Feedback?December 25, 2022 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
May 17, 2019 | Edited by Manuel Rodrigues | copied amazon.coms kindle edition description and added names of the protagonists |
May 4, 2017 | Edited by ImportBot | import new book |
April 27, 2010 | Created by WorkBot | work found |