Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. This is why -- 2. The terrors that had broken loose -- 3. I don't want to be the one to let it go -- 4. Keeping up appearances -- 5. Reducing mansions -- 6. Fit for a queen -- 7. Ideal homes -- 8. Modern movements -- 9. The American dream -- 10. A rich interior life -- 11. Country pursuits -- 12. Balls -- 13. How to run a stately home -- 14. U meets non-U -- 15. Almost a fairy story -- 16. Imagine -- 17. Bad behaviour -- 18. Lions rampant -- 19. How do you keep it clean? -- 20. The last of uptake?

"It's long been accepted that the 1950s and 1960s were a period of steady decline for the British stately country home. In Noble Ambitions, celebrated historian Adrian Tinniswood shows that the postwar history of family seats and great houses is much more nuanced. Tinniswood proves that the country house is not only an iconic symbol, but a lens through which to understand the shifting fortunes of the British élite. Twinned with the orthodox narrative of demolition and decline is a parallel story of creativity and dynamic social activity"--