October 5, 2021 The Story of the Country House by Clive Aslet Reviewed by Harriet My definition of the country house is this: a work of domestic architecture in a rural location, surrounded by its own…
August 31, 2021 A Room of Her Own: Inside the Homes and Lives of Creative Women by Robyn Lea Review by Liz Dexter Robyn Lea has a theory that there is a new Renaissance happening among creative women, who are expressing themselves and…
August 10, 2021 A Tomb With a View by Peter Ross Reviewed by Gill Davies Just a few days ago my partner and fellow Shiny reviewer Basil Ransome Davies found a new walk to do…
May 6, 2021 In the Garden; Essays on Nature and Growing Review by Hayley Anderton This is the first of the Daunt Books essay collections that I’ve read and I’m mostly impressed. The quality of…
December 1, 2020 Follies: An Architectural Journey by Rory Fraser Reviewed by Liz Dexter A delightful little book put out by a relatively new publisher founded in 2017 with a rather intriguing list, this…
March 10, 2020 The Author’s Effects by Nicola J. Watson Reviewed by Harriet This splendid and fascinating book – subtitled ‘On Writer’s House Museums’ – has been a long time in the making, and…
February 27, 2020 Square Haunting by Francesca Wade Review by Karen Langley “Square Haunting” was published to much fanfare and acclaim recently; a book which looks at the lives of five notable…
September 17, 2019 Futurekind: Design by and for the People by Robert Phillips Review by Liz Dexter Robert Phillips is a senior tutor on the Design Products course at the Royal College of Art, as well as…
April 2, 2019 Walter Gropius: Visionary Founder of the Bauhaus by Fiona MacCarthy Review by Rob Spence It probably doesn’t occur to many people as they struggle to fix bolt B to batten F of the Ikea…
January 22, 2019 The Adventures of Owen Hatherley in the Post-Soviet Space by Owen Hatherley Review by Karen Langley Author Owen Hatherley has carved out a niche for himself as one of the UK’s foremost commentators on matters architectural…
August 23, 2016 The Long Weekend by Adrian Tinniswood Reviewed by Harriet This gorgeous book is subtitled ‘Life in the English Country House Between the Wars’, and certainly that is part of its…
April 16, 2015 The Reluctant Hostess by Ethelind Fearon Reviewed by Simon I have a definite weakness for spoof etiquette guides and the like – such as Bed Manners, reviewed in the third issue…
January 21, 2015 Nairn’s London by Ian Nairn Reviewed by Karen Langley Ian Nairn was a regular TV presence in the 1960s and 1970s, but faded out of view towards the end…
January 15, 2015 The Great Indoors by Ben Highmore Reviewed by Simon If, like me, you have spent many hours of your life watching TV programmes about how to build, renovate, sell, or…
October 28, 2014 The Making of Home by Judith Flanders Reviewed by Harriet One of the most important distinctions made by Judith Flanders in this fascinating book is that between the concepts of house…
October 16, 2014 The Gardens at Brantwood: Evolution of John Ruskin’s Lakeland Paradise by David Ingram Reviewed by Barb Scharf. “It comes as something of a surprise to most people to consider Ruskin the Gardener. Ruskin has been much written…
October 13, 2014 The Hermit in the Garden: From Imperial Rome to Ornamental Gnome by Gordon Campbell Reviewed by Barb Scharf If you were a member of the English aristocracy residing in Shropshire in the Georgian era, late 1700s to early…
October 9, 2014 Herbaceous by Paul Evans Reviewed by Barb Scharf HERBACEOUS adj resembling or having the nature of herbs (any non-woody seed-bearing plant which dies down to the ground after…
April 30, 2014 Vita Sackville-West’s Sissinghurst by Vita Sackville-West & Sarah Raven Reviewed by Rachel Fenn Sissinghurst is the sort of place that you can’t help but fall in love with at first sight, even if…
