The Best Victorian Country Houses in England

England's great tradition of country houses spans 700 years, but reached its magnificent apex in the 19th century, Michael Hall demonstrates in his beautiful new book Lasting Elegance: English Country Houses 1830 - 1900 from Monacelli. The houses, designed by the most eminent architects of the age, were bigger, more elaborate, and more lavishly furnished than ever before, Hall notes. The English country house became a byword throughout Europe and in America for luxury, technological innovation, and convenience. Hall's opulently illustrated survey draws on the vast archive of the great British magazine Country Life to present the fullest visual record yet published of the Victorian-era country house in England and Wales. The photographs contained in the book are in many cases the only record of great houses in their heyday, such as Orchardleigh in Somerset, Hewell Grange in Worcestershire, Thoresby Hall in Nottinghamshire, and Stokesay Court in Shropshire - featured in the 2007 award-winning film Atonement - all sold in the 20th century and their contents dispersed.