The story of the Devonshires is the story of BritainWilliam Cavendish, the father of the first Earl, dissolved monasteries for Henry VIII. Bess, his second wife, was gaoler-companion to Mary Queen of Scots during her long imprisonment in England. Arbella Stuart, their granddaughter, was a heartbeat away from the throne of England and their grandson, Lord General of the North, fought to save the crown for Charles I. Fifty years later, the First Duke of Devonshire conspired to depose James II, and make William of Orange king. For the next two centuries the Devonshires were at the heart of fashionable society and the center of political power. The Fourth Duke became prime minister and Georgiana, wife of the Fifth, scandalized even the Regency. Spencer Compton, the last of the great Devonshires, was three times offered the preimership, and three times refused it. Even the Devonshire servants made history: Joseph Paxton was their gardner and Thomas Hobbes was the family tutor. With the help of previously unpublished material from the Chatsworth archives, this history reveals how the dynasty made and lost fortunes, fought and fornicated, built great houses, patronized the arts and pioneered the railways, made great scientific discoveries, and, in the end, came to terms with changing times. It is popular history at its very best.

Product Description: Originally published: New York, New York: Penguin Books, 2013.

Penelope Devereux was the brightest star who ever shone in the court of Queen Elizabeth I in sixteenth-century England. She was the most beautiful woman of her generation and muse to countless poets and musicians, yet her story ended in tragedy: she died in disgrace on 7 July 1607, a widow, outcast from court, and stripped of all her titles.

Product Description: Consuelo Vanderbilt was young, beautiful and the heir to a vast family fortune. She was also deeply in love with an American suitor when her mother chose instead for her to fulfill her social ambitions and marry an English Duke. Leaving her life in America, she came to England as the Duchess of Marlborough in 1895 and took up residence in her new home-Blenheim Palace...read more

Product Description: Consuelo Vanderbilt was young, beautiful and the heir to a vast family fortune. She was also deeply in love with an American suitor when her mother chose instead for her to fulfill her social ambitions and marry an English Duke. Leaving her life in America, she came to England as the Duchess of Marlborough in 1895 and took up residence in her new home-Blenheim Palace...read more

Sukhothai, meaning "Dawn of Happiness," is the name of a Thai city, a kingdom, and an era that stretched from the mid-13th to the mid-15th century. This generously illustrated volume brings together the major achievements in architecture, sculpture, painting, and ceramics of this period, revealing Sukhothai's unique artistic legacy and placing Thai art firmly within its historical and cultural context.

Product Description: Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey tells the story behind Highclere Castle, the real-life inspiration and setting for Julian Fellowes's Emmy Award-winning PBS show, and the life of one of its most famous inhabitants: Lady Almina, the fifth Countess of Carnarvon...read more

Product Description: Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey tells the story behind Highclere Castle, the real-life inspiration and setting for Julian Fellowes's Emmy Award-winning PBS show, and the life of one of its most famous inhabitants: Lady Almina, the fifth Countess of Carnarvon...read more