The Children of Castletown House Tapa dura - 2012

Dublin: History Press Ireland, 2012. Memoir of the fading days of Irish aristocracy by the last generation of children to grow up in this giant house, built in 1722 by William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish Parliament, who made his fortune in land speculation, dealing in land seized by the Crown from Irish supporters of James II. The mansion, by then dirty & in poor repair, was sold by the authors' father in 1965 (when the authors were in their 20s), farm income and the amount of land available to sell to pay for repairs no longer sufficient. Hardcover in jacket, as pictured. Light wear to book & jacket, minor bumping to corners, discoloration from binding glue to inner hinges, ink note opposite last page, noting the birth of a relative being born there; otherwise near fine. Text clean; 240 pages; notes, appendixes including recipes & formulas, family trees, family career notes; b/w & some colour photos, illustrations. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. Octavo.