Country Life 17 April 2024
Country Life 17 April 2024 tells the story of illustrator Archibald Thorburn, ancient musical instruments, Wassily Kandinsky and much more.


Here's what you'll find inside
Where the wild things are
Archibald Thorburn's talent for capturing the essence and atmosphere of Nature set him apart from his contemporaries, as Charles Harris discovers
A (crab) apple a day
The mainstay of jam and jelly may have been the fruit that tempted Adam and Eve, suggests Ian Morton
The sound of centuries past
From theorbo to the viola da gamba, ancient musical instruments hold a fascination for a growing number of today's players, finds Henrietta Bredin
Smart Thinking
James Alexander-Sinclair visits a home near Godalming, Surrey, where a blank canvas has been transformed into a beautiful, functional garden
The legacy
Sir John Soane's acrimonious fall out with his favourite sons was their loss and the nation's gain, declares Agnes Stamp
A hungry heart
Holly Black examines the stellar career of Wassily Kandinsky, who pioneered two major artistic movements in turbulent times
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Arts & antiques
Carla Passino meets 'ice queen' Polly Townsend, who spent five fascinating weeks as an artist-in-residence in Antarctica
Christopher Price's favourite painting
The Rare Breeds Survival Trust CEO selects a magical work that celebrates food production as well as the wonder of nature
From royal favourite to stranger's heir
John Goodall charts the rise of Stansted Park, West Sussex, from medieval hunting lodge to spectacular country house
Too divine
A quartet of actresses take the plaudits from Michael Billington in leading roles ranging from Charlotte Brontë to Sarah Siddons
And much more
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
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'Monolithic, multi-layered and quite, quite magnificent. This was love at first bite': Tom Parker Bowles on his lifelong love affair with lasagne
An upwardly mobile spaghetti Bolognese, lasagne al forno, with oozing béchamel and layered meaty magnificence, is a bona fide comfort classic, declares Tom Parker Bowles.
By Tom Parker Bowles
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Country houses, cream teas and Baywatch: Country Life Quiz of the Day, April 24, 2025
Thursday's Quiz of the Day asks exactly how popular Baywatch became.
By Toby Keel