Synopsis
The origins of the non-royal dukes in the British peerage divide nicely into Tudor looters, Royal bastards, opportunist generals, territorial, metropolitan or Scottish magnates. Lloyd George said that a duke, fully equipped, cost more than a dreadnought to maintain and with their palaces, possessions and retinues, they are nearly all splendid. Some of them are, of course, now poor; some of them have great wealth; some of them hit every headline and others are obscure. But within each duchy, Brian Masters tells the story of quaint grandees determined to survive. The Dukes is an essential guide that provides vital biographical information and explores the history of the dukes in unprecedented depth. This revised edition includes new information which was not available on first publication, and brings up to date the accounts of families whose titles have passed to a subsequent generation in the intervening years.
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About the Author
Brian Masters has written on a wide range of subjects, from dukes to gorillas to murderers. His account of the addictive killer Dennis Nilsen, Killing for Company, won the Gold Dagger Award in 1985, and he followed this with studies of Jeffrey Dahmer and Rosemary West. In between, there were biographies of John Aspinall, Georgina Duchess of Devonshire, Marie Corelli, and E. F. Benson, as well as a book on India and a celebration of Great Hostesses (such as Cunard and Colefax). His book on moral philosophy was entitled The Evil That Men Do. He also published his own memoirs, Getting Personal, in 2002.
Review
"Excellent mightily researched and readable. Absorbing through so many pages" * Scotsman * "Splendidly painstaking and enormously readable" -- Arthur Marshall * New Statesman * "With a keen sense of precedence and an admirable grasp of the British peerage system, he darts from duke to duke... racing up and down the genealogies" * The Economist *
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The Dukes
Seller: The Deva Bookshop, Holt, United Kingdom
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. 1980, 2nd English edition. Very Good condition hardback book in Good condition dustjacket. No inscriptions or other markings, upper edge has foxing. DJ is not price clipped (£12.50), has light edgeone small closed tear (1cm) to upper edge. Seller Inventory # 207146
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The dukes: The origins, ennoblement, and history of 26 families
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0856341126I5N00
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The Dukes. The Origins, Ennoblement and History of 26 Families
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Blond & Briggs, London, 1980
ISBN 10: 0856341126
ISBN 13: 9780856341120
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Seller: The Print Room, Cockernhoe nr Luton, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Jacket by Ken Williamson (illustrator). 1st Edition. First published in 1975, this is a second impression of the revised edition (published 1977), of 1980. SIGNED,DATED AND INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR, IN GREEN INK, ON TITLE PAGE. 'For Joan Ferguson, from Brian Masters - 1984'. Some slight edge wear to top and bottom of jacket and spine, corners slightly bruised, previous owner's bookplate to 'previous publications page', no other inscriptions, internally clean tight and square, overall a vg+ copy. 432pp, illustrated. The origins of the non royal dukes in the British peerage divide nicely into Tudor looters, Royal bastards, opportunist generals, territorial, metropolitan or Scottish magnates. Lloyd George said that a duke, fully equipped, cost more than a dreadnought to maintain and with their palaces, possessions and retinues, they are nearly all splendid. Some of them are, of course, now poor, some of them have great wealth, some of them hit every headline and others are obscure. But within each duchy, Brian Masters tells the story of grandees determined to survive. 'The Dukes' is an essential guide that provides vital biographical information and explores the history of the dukes in unprecedented depth. This revised edition includes new information which was not available on first publication, and brings up to date the accounts of families whose titles have passed to a subsequent generation in the intervening years. Very scarce signed. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 010964
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The dukes : the origins, ennoblement, and history of 26 families / Brian Masters
Published by
London : Blond & Briggs, 1980
ISBN 10: 0856341126
ISBN 13: 9780856341120
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Seller: MW Books, New York, NY, U.S.A.
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Second Edition. Fine cloth copy in a near-fine, very slightly edge-dulled dust wrapper. Remains well-preserved overall. Price-clipped. Physical description: 432 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., ports. ; 24 cm. Subjects; Nobility Great Britain Biography. Great Britain Social life and customs. Great Britain Dukes to 1974. 3 Kg. Seller Inventory # 447215
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The Dukes: Origin, Ennoblement and History of 26 Families
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hardcover. Condition: Acceptable. Please see the condition note after this for details, if this is missing please consider Acceptable to mean poor quality that could include major staining, water damage, writing, missing dustjacket, etc etc. Our books are dispatched from a Yorkshire former cotton mill. We list via barcode/ISBN so please note that the images are stock images and may not be the exact copy you receive, furthermore the details about edition and year might not be accurate as many publishers reuse the same ISBN for multiple editions and as we simply scan a barcode or enter an ISBN we do not check the validity of the edition data when listing. If you're looking for an exact edition please don't order (at least not without checking with us first, although we don't always have time to check). We aim to dispatch prompty, the service used will depend on order value and book size. We can ship to most countries, see our shipping policies. Payment is via Abe only. Seller Inventory # P-BSX00249-RAG-20250710-A
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The dukes : the origins, ennoblement, and history of 26 families / Brian Masters
Published by
London : Blond & Briggs, 1980
ISBN 10: 0856341126
ISBN 13: 9780856341120
Used
Hardcover
Seller: MW Books Ltd., Galway, Ireland
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Second Edition. Fine cloth copy in a near-fine, very slightly edge-dulled dust wrapper. Remains well-preserved overall. Price-clipped. Physical description: 432 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., ports. ; 24 cm. Subjects; Nobility Great Britain Biography. Great Britain Social life and customs. Great Britain Dukes to 1974. 1 Kg. Seller Inventory # 447215
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The Dukes: Origin, Ennoblement and History of 26 Families
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Condition: Fair. This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside.This book has hardback covers. In fair condition, suitable as a study copy. Dust jacket in fair condition. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item,900grams, ISBN:0856341126. Seller Inventory # 8624783
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The dukes: The origins, ennoblement, and history of 26 families
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Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # 24S94_89_0856341126