Written about by novelists and poets, the Big House has been a part of the Irish landscape for over 400 years. This anthology portrays life in the big house in a chronological structure, the aim being to create a documentary history, good or bad, of the role of the Big House in Ireland. Quoting from letters, diaries, memoirs, household accounts and travellers' tales, along with private family papers, the lives of the inhabitants are illuminated, from the notable families to their retainers and servants. Outside events such as the Great Famine, 1880s Land War, and Troubles of the early 1920s are also covered, along with the remarkable renaissance of the Irish country house in the 21st century. The book is sumptuously illustrated throughout with contemporary paintings, drawings, photographs and caricatures...