In the early 18th century, country houses in Ireland underwent a dramatic physical transformation. In her book Life in the Country House in Georgian Ireland (Paul Mellon Centre, 2016), Patricia McCarthy describes the course of this evolution, as the Palladian style turned aristocratic domiciles in rural Ireland from fortified buildings into elegant structures with columns, porticos, and other classically-influenced touches. From there she goes on to describe the interiors of the homes, the functions of the various rooms, and the lives lived both by the upper class and the people who served them. By describing the manifold ways in which the occupants used the spaces, a portrait of their domestic lives emerges that enriches our understanding not just of country house life in the 18th century but the world of the Protestant elite in Georgian Ireland as well.
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