In this witty and irreverent book the Seventh Earl of Bradford uncovers the stories that you won’t hear from the guide. Full of first-hand true tales told to Lord Bradford by his fellow peers, owners, butlers, maids, gardeners and chauffeurs, Stately Secrets captures in brilliant, hilarious colour the real life behind the scenes. Everything is not always what it seems behind the doors of the stately homes of Britain, and it’s often the stories that the tour guide didn’t tell you as you wandered around the grand houses that are the most revealing and entertaining. In this witty and irreverent book the Seventh Earl of Bradford uncovers the stories that you won’t hear from the guide. Full of first-hand true tales told to Lord Bradford by his fellow peers, owners, butlers, maids, gardeners and chauffeurs, Stately Secrets captures in brilliant, hilarious colour the real life behind the scenes.

From battles with computers, hotel receptionists and passport control, to visitors that take the owners for the gardener, to couples cavorting on valuable silk covers – shocking, one should remove those before such activities – to touring their own houses and embellishing the truth to the despair of some enterprising guests who know better, and much, much more, this uproarious tome is a must read for any who love to know the ins and outs behind the stately doors of ‘the other half’.