THE BIBLE OF BRITISH TASTE: Stories of Home, People and Place, lovely gift item for your Anglophile giftee

THE BIBLE OF BRITISH TASTE: Stories of Home, People and Place
RUTH GUILDING
Frances Lincoln Ltd (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$45.00 all editions, available now

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Based on the highly popular blog and IG account, Bible of British Taste, this book will give readers a glimpse into the idiosyncratic houses that exemplify the best of British taste and style.

With a predilection for lived-in, even cluttered interiors, filled with antiques, artworks and paintings, this style rejects perfection and gives you a sense of what it would really be like to live in some of the houses you see in magazines.

In 2012 Ruth Guilding, long-time contributor to World of Interiors, set up her blog and website, Bible of British Taste. Since 2016 has run an Instagram account of the same name, which now has almost 70k followers and an engagement rate of over 6%. In December 2022 she created the first issue of a magazine based on these accounts, which quickly sold out.

Now working alongside an influential younger generation of British tastemakers such as Edward Luke Hall (228k IG), Ben Pentreath (172k) and Duncan Campbell (70k), she has become the unofficial arbiter of the quirks and eccentricities of what makes British style.

This book charts the development of this style from the work of William Morris and the Bloomsbury circle up to the present. With unrivalled access to the locations, all the photographs are taken by the author.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: A potted history of Style as practiced among the British strivers and arrivistes since Victoria's reign, it's a gift item for the aspiring Anglophile. The author's quite the maven on the topic. Her Instagram account is filled with lush images of English cozy, homey, gemütlich comforts and some grand-looking stuff to break up the sameness.

where we're going, aka the Table of Contents

I'm always fascinated by these super design-oriented books. They're evergreens in publishing terms, books that can't fail (as a class, not individually) because people need gifts that make a statement: "I know you, I know you like {topic/thing/activity} so I'm going to show you just how fond I am of you with this book about it." One enormous category for this kind of object is the coffee-table book. It sits and looks lovely, it can be leafed through by awkward guests and/or during an embarrassing moment offering a social lifeline, and (in this specific book's case) be enjoyed simply for its intrinsic handsomeness.

all photos by the author

I turned pages and admired, felt oddly comforted in a world of confusion and turmoil by this steady thrum of solidity, and came through the experience with admiration for the author. This is a very cohesive presentation of British (English, really) style. It's clearly pervasive...she doesn't repeat any locations...and deep-rooted, the history bits demonstrate.

For my part, it's not my taste, it's cluttered and I'm morally certain every one of these spaces is dusty and musty. I'd feel the need for a full-time vacuumer/duster supported by a weekly wash-up specialist indoors, and at least two gardeners.

So, not so much on the aspirational scale for me. But it's fascinating, and for the right recipient, a gift that will elicit delighted coos and warbles of envious ecstasy.