Their Noble Lordships: How to Tell a Duke From an Earl…And Other Mysteries Solved

Winchester writes of the peculiarly English tradition of handing law-making ability to people who have had the simple good fortune of being born into the right family. He travels the height and breadth of British Isles in search of many of these Lords, Earls, Dukes, Viscounts, and other titled peers. Some are eccentric, many are generous, a few are resigned to their duties, while one was even helped by his fellow upper-class in the cover-up of murder. The book was actually challenged for publication by peers who did not want to be “exposed” while others championed the cause. Winchester deftly explores the subject mining anecdotes such as the necessity for the ultra-wealthy in Scotland to eat their porridge standing up and also to serve their cheese with a scoop rather than a knife.