The National Trust guide

The authors of this completely revised and updated edition of a work first published in 1973 are closely connected with the National Trust. Greeves has written other guides to historical sites, and Trinick and was a regional director for the Trust. The guide describes the variety of properties the Trust owns: historic homes, gardens, and countrysides (farms, woodlands, conifer plantations, wildlife conservation, and prehistoric remains). An appendix lists less important acquisitions and buildings not open to the public. For all locations mentioned in the main text, there are maps, many color and black-and-white photographs, and vivid descriptions. The introduction gives an overview of the Trust and its properties. Historians and archivists may learn of many treasures to be found when visiting Trust properties (e.g., manuscripts and documents including letters from Oscar Wilde and Florence Nightingale, and accounts of preparations to meet the Armada). Recommended for comprehensive collections that include books on historic preservation and British art and architecture. C. Reik; Tufts University

In this revised and updated second edition (the first edition appeared in 1990), collaborators Greeves, an author of books on London and English country houses, and Trinick, a National Trust employee, cover most of the National Trust's gardens, historic homes, and coastland in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Their arrangement is practical and easy to use; the entries are arranged in alphabetical order, and several maps pinpoint their locations. Each entry provides the historical background and a detailed description of a property; more than half include a color photograph. The book also contains a listing of properties not described in the text. What the work lacks, however, is information on visiting hours, admission costs, and handicapped access. For that, you have to go to the National Trust Handbook (Trafalgar Square, 1997). Nonetheless, the guide is useful to those planning a tour through the British countryside. Recommended for public libraries.‘Kathleen A. Shanahan, American Univ. Lib., Silver Spring, Md. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.