Here's a look at some of what you'll find inside.
The master builder
Carla Passino is captivated by floral photographs that evoke 17th-century still-life paintings
A little mite with a mighty heart
She may be tiny, but Jenny wren certainly makes her presence felt, declares Mark Cocker
Worth its weight in gold
There’s more to myrrh than meets the eye, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee
Now that packs a punch
Lucien de Guise is bowled over by the intoxicating concoctions mixed by Dickens and George IV
Pie say!
Neil Buttery tucks into the tale of the Yorkshire Christmas Pye
Christmas gifts
Pick out those perfect presents with a helping hand from Hetty Lintell and Amie Elizabeth White
Mayara Magri’s favourite painting
The Royal Ballet dancer selects an inspiring, transformative work
Hardy and the country house
The author’s Wessex is brought to life in Jeremy Musson’s words and Matthew Rice’s drawings
Beauty by numbers
Deborah Nicholls-Lee is fascinated by fractals, the exquisite, ever-repeating patterns in Nature
The fall of Albion
John Lewis-Stempel urges us to rediscover our love of heathland, now a rarer habitat than rainforest
Get a Grip
Andrew Green rounds up the animals in Dickens’s life and work
First out of the lychgate
Jack Watkins explores the folklore and function of the lychgate
Little things that make a big difference
Our guide to entertaining in style
Thank you for the memories
From flying a Spitfire to sushi-making, the COUNTRY LIFE team puts gift experiences to the test
The legacy
Kate Green reveals how Sir David Willcocks changed the sound of Christmas with Carols for Choirs
Luxury
Hetty Lintell on saunas, socks, silk bows and precious stones
Now we’re just some gadgets that you used to know
Neil Buttery sorts the pudding prick from the tongue press
Lid pro quo
Rob Crossan talks Tupperware
Kitchen garden cook
Melanie Johnson on cabbage
It’s always darkest before the dawn
A black fox illuminates a dreary dawn for John Lewis-Stempel
Let’s go to the movies
Victoria Marston looks back at classic film posters
It takes the biscuit
Matthew Dennison explores the tin-novations that made Huntley & Palmers a household name
Forever a chorister
Sarah Sands shares how choral singing shaped the life of her late brother Kit Hesketh-Harvey
‘What a good boy am I’
Ian Morton investigates the real meanings of our nursery rhymes
The great astral sneeze
Harry Pearson finds out why this is the year of the Northern Lights
And much more
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Game, set, match: 12 of the world’s most beautiful tennis courtsFrom Italy to Indonesia, when it comes to hotel amenities, a picturesque tennis court will always trump a 24-hour gym. So, before you book your next holiday, take a look at our pick of the 12 best.
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Five frankly enormous mansions, including one with its own private swimming lake, as seen in Country LifeSometimes bigger really is better.
