Inheritance: The Story of Knole and the Sackvilles

New York: Walker & Company, 2010. xxi, 293 pages, [16] pages of plates, illustrations (some colour); 25 cm. Near fine. Firm binding, unmarked. Age toning, light soiling. Stated First U.S. edition. Fine DJ. "Since its purchase in 1604 by Thomas Sackville, first Earl of Dorset, the house at Knole, Kent, has been inhabited by thirteen generations of the aristocratic Sackville family. Now owned by the National Trust, Knole is today visited by thousands annually. Here, drawing on a wealth of unpublished letters, archives, and images, the current incumbent of the seat, Robert Sackville-West, paints a vivid and intimate portrait of the vast, labyrinthine house and the relationships his colorful ancestors formed within it. It's a drama in which the house itself is a principal character, its fortunes often mirroring those of the family. Every detail holds a story: the portraits, and all the items the subjects of those portraits left behind, point to pivotal moments in history; all the rooms, and the objects that fill them, are freighted with an emotional significance handed down from generation to generation. / After studying History at Oxford University, Robert Sackville-West worked in publishing, founding Toucan Books in 1985, which creates illustrated non-fiction books for an international market. He now combines that with chairing Knole Estates, the property and investment company which runs the Sackville family's interests at Knole. In 2008, he and his wife and three children moved in the house, which has been occupied by the Sackville family for 400 years." - Publisher.. 1st. Hardcover. Very Good/Fine. 8vo.