For 100 years, Country Life magazine has presented an image of rural life in Britain for readers at home and abroad. To celebrate the centenary, this book offers an analysis of the magazine's changing role over the years, from the Arcadian era before World War I, through the changes wrought by governments and by social movements, to the countryside of today - a more democratic but perhaps less idyllic place. Intended as a microcosm of the magazine itself, the book covers topics from architecture to land ownership, and from the rural poor to the landed gentry.