Product Description

Take a through-the-keyhole tour of the magnificent country estate of Chequers, where British prime ministers through the decades have spent time relaxing. Stroll through the rose gardens, enjoy the private art collection and admire the ornate rooms and magnificent interiors furnished with fine antiques and steeped in history. Featuring both period and modern photographs, specially commissioned and taken by leading architectural photographer Mark Fiennes, this is a full-colour book. In addition to the visual pleasures "Chequers" provides, Norma Major offers an expansive account of the house itself, which details numorous events and experiences and adds colour to the overall story of this beautiful house's occupation by renowned political figures.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #699640 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

About the Author
Norma Major's first book, a biography of the opera singer Joan Sutherland, was published to great acclaim in 1987. Her time spent at Chequers during her husband's term as Prime Minister (1990-1997) gave her a unique opportunity to research and write this book.

Customer Reviews

A break from No. 10
This is a very interesting book written by the wife of a former Prime Minister. The first half is all about the history of Chequers and how it passed through the Cromwell family and their descendants for two centuries before being bought by Lord and Lady Lee of Fareham, who in 1921 gave it to the Nation so that Britain's Prime Ministers could use this beautiful country house and estate at weekends, thus ensuring a break from their parliamentary duties at No. 10 Downing Street.

The second half of the book relates to the occupation of Chequers by Prime Ministers from Lloyd George to John Major. It appears that almost all of them greatly appreciated the privacy of Chequers and most of them used it as often as they were able to.

There are some excellent photographs of the building and its gardens, of Prime Ministers and their families, and of visiting Heads of State. There are photos of Statesmen planting memorial trees, of Prime Ministers enjoying Christmas with their families, and photos of the commemorative stained glass windows specially designed for each Prime Minister as a memento and memorial of their time spent at Chequers.

The book provides the reader with previously little known information about the history of Chequers and its purpose. It has been well researched by Norma Major and is a unique contribution about one of Britain's most familiar yet lesser known country houses.