The Devonshires
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  • Published: 9 May 2013
  • ISBN: 9781448179688
  • Imprint: RH AudioGo
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 21 hr 44 min
  • Narrator: Michael Jayston
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The Devonshires

The Story of a Family and a Nation

Formats & editions
EBook
9 May 2013
Audiobook
9 May 2013
Paperback
15 May 2014
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A history of England through the eyes of one its most famous and powerful families, the Devonshires

The story of the Cavendish family and the first eight Dukes of Devonshire is the story of England. From 1381 – when Sir John Cavendish, Lord Chief Justice of England, was killed during the Peasant’s Revolt – to 1906, when the Duke of Devonshire’s resignation brought down the Tory government: the family’s fortunes (and misfortunes) mirrored the life of the nation. The Devonshires is also the story of the huge support networks of servants and labour needed to sustain the supremacy of a family whose accumulated wealth, from the Dissolution of the Monasteries to the coming of the railways, saw them found ship ports, holiday resorts, scientific laboratories, stud farms and some of the most significant buildings in the land. For this new history, Hattersley has been given unique access to the archives, based at Chatsworth, the family seat.

The Devonshires is as rich and ravishing a read as Hattersley’s bestselling The Edwardians. Whereas previous books on the Devonshires have dealt with one or two key figures, Hattersley gathers the dynasty in one place: an astonishing accumulation of scientists, soldiers, patrons, politicians, house builders, racehorse breeders, philanderers, and powerful women. The huge personalities in the Devonshire story, and the vibrant details that Hatterley uncovers, make for a lively and illuminating path in to the political, social and cultural changes that England has endured and enjoyed. Brilliantly researched, this is delicious popular history at its very best.
  • Published: 9 May 2013
  • ISBN: 9781448179688
  • Imprint: RH AudioGo
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 21 hr 44 min
  • Narrator: Michael Jayston
Categories:
Share…

About the author

Roy Hattersley

Roy Hattersley was elected to Parliament in 1964. He served in Harold Wilson’s government and in Jim Callaghan’s Cabinet. In 1983 he became deputy leader of the Labour Party. As well as contributing to a host of national newspapers, he has written twenty-five books, including The Edwardians; Borrowed Time: the Story of Britain between the Wars; In Search of England; acclaimed biographies of John Wesley and Lloyd George, and, most recently, The Devonshires. Roy Hattersley has been Visiting Fellow of Harvard’s Institute of Politics and of Nuffield College, Oxford. In 2003 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

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Praise for The Devonshires

This jaunty magnificent book tells the history of Britain just as much as it does of one family

Daily Express

A seriously comfortable armchair, a magnificent old duffer of a book that deftly knits together a national story into the fabric of a family drama. It does this with all the warmth and affection for history that mark out a former statesman and a first-class storyteller

Ian Kelly, The Times

Jostling with the eccentric and engaging characters from a grand family, Hattersley deftly tells a jaunty story about Britishness through the ages

Kathryn Hughes, Mail on Sunday

Remarkable… The genius of this work is that it serves up a feast of details from a whole dynasty of remarkable men and women

Jenny Barlow, Daily Express

An engaging account of a gallery of historical figures

Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph Seven

A vivid read, crowded with characters and colour

Lucy Lethbridge, Observer

A balanced look at a traditional tale of aristocratic power and prestige

Hallie Rubenhold, BBC History Magazine

Incredibly detailed

Your Family Tree

A delightful, beautifully researched book

Good Book Guide