Chatsworth, the house

Chatsworth is one of England's ten most visited great houses.

It is also one of its best loved ones because, although it is a palace in size and grandeur, it is obviously a family home.

Fourteen generations of Cavendishes have lived here; each has added to the collections, and each has stamped its own personality on the place.

In this tour of the house, the Duchess takes the reader into the private as well as the public rooms, and goes behind the scenes to explain the management of the household and the work of the staff needed to keep it going.

She describes the events after 1950 when her husband inherited the Dukedom and together embarked on the tasks of conserving, revitalizing, redecorating and running Chatsworth.

The tasks, and the pleasures they bring, continue to this day.