Books of the Year
A further selection of the best and most overrated books of the year, chosen by some of The Spectator's regular reviewers.
John McEwen
The Field Book of Country Houses and Their Owners by Hugh Montgomery- Massingberd (Webb & Bower/Michael Joseph, £16.95). A monument to the tenacity and unsung virtues of the squire- archy by The Ilk of our days; and a memorial to the Indian summer of The Field under Simon Courtauld, an Indian summer these articles embodied as part of the series correctly named 'Family Seats', Toulouse-Lautrec: The Complete Graphic Works by Gotz Adriani (Thames & Hudson, £36). A bumper volume at a relatively unbumperish price.
An African Sketchbook by Ray Nestor (Fountain Press, £14.95). A memoir in words and pictures of Kenya before it became the less charming Kenyattaland. Also offers hope for all: it is the author's first book and he had his 100th birthday in October.
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