The French Country House is now available as a paperback with flaps, but still has the same content as the hardcover and is equally transporting and evocative. The book celebrates what the French call lart de vivre (the art of good living) within the intimacy of private dwellings set deep in the countryside. These are places of retreat old manor houses, small chateaux, stud farms, even a former convent that, because of their great age and the memories accumulated inside them, are beloved by their owners and provide endless delight for family and friends. Each country house is a treasure trove of history, with beautiful furnishings as well as precious heirlooms, such as family albums, faded love letters, attics full of old toys, fancy dresses, retired pianos, left-over brocades and wallpapers even libraries hidden at the tops of towers. With 220 photographs in full colour illustrating rooms from the salon to the kitchen below and the attic above, together with details of silver,...