Country Life 23 November 2022

Country Life 23 November 2022 features our iconic advent calendar cover, includes our annual Christmas gift guide, looks at how Jane Austen wove country houses into her works, and much, much more.

Here’s a look at some of the highlights you’ll find inside.

Austen and the country house

Jeremy Musson examines country-house architecture in the novels of Jane Austen

Like a child with a new toy

Claire Jackson marvels at the craftsmanship and ingenuity of Britain’s best toymakers

Recommended videos for you

Strong flavours to savour

Piquant and punchy savouries are bite-sized dishes to delight, suggests Tom Parker Bowles

Sip, sip hooray!

Eleanor Doughty asks the wine experts to select their favourite tipples for the Christmas period

Christmas gift guide

Hetty Lintell has the festive season all wrapped up with 10 pages of perfect presents



Oliver Mears’s favourite painting

The Royal Opera House director of opera selects a powerful work

Masterpiece

Jack Watkins assesses Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a true children’s-book classic

A brush with history

The traditional art of marbling paper is alive and well in Wiltshire, as Julie Harding discovers

A call to arms

John F. Mueller delves into the history of heraldry and explains how to create a coat of arms

Grate expectations

Emma Hughes goes behind the scenes as cheesemonger Paxton & Whitfield turns 225

Interiors

Melanie Johnson and Amelia Thorpe bring a host of inspiring ideas to the festive table

The Editor’s choice

Country Life Editor Mark Hedges on his favourite things

If the shoes fit

Zeb Soanes puts his best foot forward on a visit to the London shop of shoe-maker John Lobb

A gardener’s Christmas

Florist Paul Hawkins shows Tiffany Daneff how to fashion decorations from the garden

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson on Swiss chard

 ‘The once and future king’

Matthew Dennison considers the portrayal of King Arthur in art

And much more besides.