Eleanor Doughty
@brushingboots.bsky.social
Writer on the aristocracy, big houses, old money; author of HEIRS AND GRACES, a history of the modern aristocracy, which is out now! Views my own, yours for £. edoughty92@gmail.com
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/453305/heirs-and-graces-by-doughty-eleanor/
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/453305/heirs-and-graces-by-doughty-eleanor/
Pinned
It’s tough being a toff — the decline of the British aristocracy
In Heirs and Graces, Eleanor Doughty documents how aristocrats are surviving in an age of inheritance tax, from turning their estates into safari parks to working for B&Q
www.thetimes.com
‘This is a marvellous book’
Heirs and Graces is reviewed in today’s Times and I am a little emotional (again).
www.thetimes.com/article/68f2...
Heirs and Graces is reviewed in today’s Times and I am a little emotional (again).
www.thetimes.com/article/68f2...
Reposted by Eleanor Doughty
And if you are an editor who wants someone who genuinely knows about Lords reform today and/or the general state of the upper class and is in touch with hundreds of peers, including – as in this piece – the biggest landowners in the country, then I’m your girl. There is always more to say about it!
December 28, 2025 at 9:02 AM
And if you are an editor who wants someone who genuinely knows about Lords reform today and/or the general state of the upper class and is in touch with hundreds of peers, including – as in this piece – the biggest landowners in the country, then I’m your girl. There is always more to say about it!
Reposted by Eleanor Doughty
In case you somehow missed it, I have recently written a whole book, HEIRS AND GRACES, on the modern aristocracy which you can buy in all good or bad bookshops! There is a whole chapter on the Lords in it and it is also very good, if I may so! All links here
www.penguin.co.uk/books/453305...
www.penguin.co.uk/books/453305...
Heirs and Graces
There are fewer than 5000 people who can genuinely claim to be members of the British aristocracy, and yet they loom large in the popular consciousness. We're fascinated by their houses and estates, t...
www.penguin.co.uk
December 28, 2025 at 9:02 AM
In case you somehow missed it, I have recently written a whole book, HEIRS AND GRACES, on the modern aristocracy which you can buy in all good or bad bookshops! There is a whole chapter on the Lords in it and it is also very good, if I may so! All links here
www.penguin.co.uk/books/453305...
www.penguin.co.uk/books/453305...
Reposted by Eleanor Doughty
I couldn’t resist including a reference to Wogan Milford here, the only Communist member of the Lords ever. After he made his maiden speech denouncing his own position Attlee stood up and said that it was ‘an advantage of hereditary representation’ that a Communist could sit in the Lords at all
December 28, 2025 at 9:02 AM
I couldn’t resist including a reference to Wogan Milford here, the only Communist member of the Lords ever. After he made his maiden speech denouncing his own position Attlee stood up and said that it was ‘an advantage of hereditary representation’ that a Communist could sit in the Lords at all
Reposted by Eleanor Doughty
The headline is rightly a bit glib but there is a serious point to be made about political independence and the role that the working hereds today have. The peer in this piece that said that people who defend heredity slowly go mad is right, but I’ll take that over modern prime ministerial patronage
December 28, 2025 at 9:02 AM
The headline is rightly a bit glib but there is a serious point to be made about political independence and the role that the working hereds today have. The peer in this piece that said that people who defend heredity slowly go mad is right, but I’ll take that over modern prime ministerial patronage
Reposted by Eleanor Doughty
I have written a lovely long essay on the end of the ‘hereds’ in the Lords for today’s Sunday Times which I am rather pleased with – and which I don’t mind saying is well worth reading!
www.thetimes.com/article/a280...
www.thetimes.com/article/a280...
Will Britain lose something when hereditary peers exit the Lords?
I’ve spoken to hundreds of peers as the final ‘hereds’ await their fate. Their answers provided food for thought over Labour’s promise to abolish them
www.thetimes.com
December 28, 2025 at 9:02 AM
I have written a lovely long essay on the end of the ‘hereds’ in the Lords for today’s Sunday Times which I am rather pleased with – and which I don’t mind saying is well worth reading!
www.thetimes.com/article/a280...
www.thetimes.com/article/a280...
I have written a lovely long essay on the end of the ‘hereds’ in the Lords for today’s Sunday Times which I am rather pleased with – and which I don’t mind saying is well worth reading!
www.thetimes.com/article/a280...
www.thetimes.com/article/a280...
Will Britain lose something when hereditary peers exit the Lords?
I’ve spoken to hundreds of peers as the final ‘hereds’ await their fate. Their answers provided food for thought over Labour’s promise to abolish them
www.thetimes.com
December 28, 2025 at 9:02 AM
I have written a lovely long essay on the end of the ‘hereds’ in the Lords for today’s Sunday Times which I am rather pleased with – and which I don’t mind saying is well worth reading!
www.thetimes.com/article/a280...
www.thetimes.com/article/a280...
Am I the only person to ask for a copy of the biography of Robert Birley for Christmas? I hope so, otherwise there’s another equally sad person in this world
December 26, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Am I the only person to ask for a copy of the biography of Robert Birley for Christmas? I hope so, otherwise there’s another equally sad person in this world
Today is my 33rd birthday and I have just realised that I’ve had my top on inside out all day
December 23, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Today is my 33rd birthday and I have just realised that I’ve had my top on inside out all day
Reposted by Eleanor Doughty
I have written some great things this year but this is one of my favourites. For this week’s special Christmas Great Estates, I spent the day at a Trappist monastery – a historic house, yes, but one home to 14 monks with a brewery attached. It was totally amazing
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/b5820b4...
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/b5820b4...
‘We ditched dairy farming for beer brewing to keep our monastery going’
Great Estates: Mount Saint Bernard Abbey doesn’t pay for itself, despite the monks’ simple way of life
www.telegraph.co.uk
December 22, 2025 at 9:10 AM
I have written some great things this year but this is one of my favourites. For this week’s special Christmas Great Estates, I spent the day at a Trappist monastery – a historic house, yes, but one home to 14 monks with a brewery attached. It was totally amazing
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/b5820b4...
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/b5820b4...
I have written some great things this year but this is one of my favourites. For this week’s special Christmas Great Estates, I spent the day at a Trappist monastery – a historic house, yes, but one home to 14 monks with a brewery attached. It was totally amazing
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/b5820b4...
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/b5820b4...
‘We ditched dairy farming for beer brewing to keep our monastery going’
Great Estates: Mount Saint Bernard Abbey doesn’t pay for itself, despite the monks’ simple way of life
www.telegraph.co.uk
December 22, 2025 at 9:10 AM
I have written some great things this year but this is one of my favourites. For this week’s special Christmas Great Estates, I spent the day at a Trappist monastery – a historic house, yes, but one home to 14 monks with a brewery attached. It was totally amazing
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/b5820b4...
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/b5820b4...
Reposted by Eleanor Doughty
Have you enjoyed this week’s Patreon episode? 🎧✨ Support the author, and me 📚❤️ by buying a copy of "Heirs and Graces" by @brushingboots.bsky.social through the History Rage Bookshop!
📖 Buy the book: uk.bookshop.org/a/10...
Listen now 🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#History #Podcast
📖 Buy the book: uk.bookshop.org/a/10...
Listen now 🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#History #Podcast
December 21, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Have you enjoyed this week’s Patreon episode? 🎧✨ Support the author, and me 📚❤️ by buying a copy of "Heirs and Graces" by @brushingboots.bsky.social through the History Rage Bookshop!
📖 Buy the book: uk.bookshop.org/a/10...
Listen now 🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#History #Podcast
📖 Buy the book: uk.bookshop.org/a/10...
Listen now 🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#History #Podcast
Reposted by Eleanor Doughty
🚨 THIS WEEK TO PATREON AND APPLE SUBS🚨Wentworth’s destruction wasn’t just architectural — it broke a family. 💔🏰
Hear @brushingboots.bsky.social recount this gripping story on History Rage.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #WentworthWoodhouse #Podcast
Hear @brushingboots.bsky.social recount this gripping story on History Rage.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #WentworthWoodhouse #Podcast
December 21, 2025 at 12:00 PM
🚨 THIS WEEK TO PATREON AND APPLE SUBS🚨Wentworth’s destruction wasn’t just architectural — it broke a family. 💔🏰
Hear @brushingboots.bsky.social recount this gripping story on History Rage.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #WentworthWoodhouse #Podcast
Hear @brushingboots.bsky.social recount this gripping story on History Rage.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #WentworthWoodhouse #Podcast
Reposted by Eleanor Doughty
🚨 THIS WEEK ON PATREON & APPLE 🚨Mining at Wentworth Woodhouse came terrifyingly close to the back door. ⛏️💥
Hear @brushingboots.bsky.social tell the full story on History Rage.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #WentworthWoodhouse #BritishHistory
Hear @brushingboots.bsky.social tell the full story on History Rage.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #WentworthWoodhouse #BritishHistory
December 20, 2025 at 12:00 PM
🚨 THIS WEEK ON PATREON & APPLE 🚨Mining at Wentworth Woodhouse came terrifyingly close to the back door. ⛏️💥
Hear @brushingboots.bsky.social tell the full story on History Rage.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #WentworthWoodhouse #BritishHistory
Hear @brushingboots.bsky.social tell the full story on History Rage.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #WentworthWoodhouse #BritishHistory
Reposted by Eleanor Doughty
🚨 THIS WEEK TO PATREON AND APPLE SUBS🚨Aristocratic power today isn’t in Parliament — it’s in land and legacy. 🌿🏛️
Hear @brushingboots.bsky.social break it down on History Rage.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #SoftPower #Aristocracy #Podcast
Hear @brushingboots.bsky.social break it down on History Rage.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #SoftPower #Aristocracy #Podcast
December 18, 2025 at 12:00 PM
🚨 THIS WEEK TO PATREON AND APPLE SUBS🚨Aristocratic power today isn’t in Parliament — it’s in land and legacy. 🌿🏛️
Hear @brushingboots.bsky.social break it down on History Rage.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #SoftPower #Aristocracy #Podcast
Hear @brushingboots.bsky.social break it down on History Rage.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #SoftPower #Aristocracy #Podcast
Reposted by Eleanor Doughty
🚨 THIS WEEK TO PATREON AND APPLE SUBS🚨TV has shaped our fantasies of aristocratic life… and not always honestly! 📺✨
On History Rage, @brushingboots.bsky.social exposes the gap between drama and reality.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #MediaMyths #BritishHistory #Podcast
On History Rage, @brushingboots.bsky.social exposes the gap between drama and reality.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #MediaMyths #BritishHistory #Podcast
December 17, 2025 at 12:00 PM
🚨 THIS WEEK TO PATREON AND APPLE SUBS🚨TV has shaped our fantasies of aristocratic life… and not always honestly! 📺✨
On History Rage, @brushingboots.bsky.social exposes the gap between drama and reality.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #MediaMyths #BritishHistory #Podcast
On History Rage, @brushingboots.bsky.social exposes the gap between drama and reality.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #MediaMyths #BritishHistory #Podcast
Reposted by Eleanor Doughty
🚨 THIS WEEK TO PATREON AND APPLE 🚨 Aristocratic life isn’t the fairytale people imagine. 💼💔
This week on History Rage, @brushingboots.bsky.social reveals the real grind behind the grandeur.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #Aristocracy #RealityCheck #Podcast
This week on History Rage, @brushingboots.bsky.social reveals the real grind behind the grandeur.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #Aristocracy #RealityCheck #Podcast
December 16, 2025 at 12:00 PM
🚨 THIS WEEK TO PATREON AND APPLE 🚨 Aristocratic life isn’t the fairytale people imagine. 💼💔
This week on History Rage, @brushingboots.bsky.social reveals the real grind behind the grandeur.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #Aristocracy #RealityCheck #Podcast
This week on History Rage, @brushingboots.bsky.social reveals the real grind behind the grandeur.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #Aristocracy #RealityCheck #Podcast
Reposted by Eleanor Doughty
I had a fine day out in Bishop Auckland with Jonathan Ruffer, the man who predicted the credit crunch, who was earning the national average wage every six hours in 2015, who could buy Whistlejacket ten times over. This week's Great Estates is on Auckland Palace
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/0d6ac5c...
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/0d6ac5c...
‘I’m one of the meanest people I know’: the fund manager who spent millions saving a castle
Great Estates: Jonathan Ruffer set his sights on Auckland Palace after cashing in on the 2008 financial crash
www.telegraph.co.uk
December 15, 2025 at 10:03 AM
I had a fine day out in Bishop Auckland with Jonathan Ruffer, the man who predicted the credit crunch, who was earning the national average wage every six hours in 2015, who could buy Whistlejacket ten times over. This week's Great Estates is on Auckland Palace
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/0d6ac5c...
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/0d6ac5c...
Reposted by Eleanor Doughty
🚨 THIS WEEK FOR SUBSCRIBERS 🚨 Think the upper class disappeared? Think again! 👀🔥
This week on History Rage, Paul Bavill and @brushingboots.bsky.social uncover how the aristocracy still shapes Britain today.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #Aristocracy #BritishHistory #Podcast
This week on History Rage, Paul Bavill and @brushingboots.bsky.social uncover how the aristocracy still shapes Britain today.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #Aristocracy #BritishHistory #Podcast
December 15, 2025 at 12:02 PM
🚨 THIS WEEK FOR SUBSCRIBERS 🚨 Think the upper class disappeared? Think again! 👀🔥
This week on History Rage, Paul Bavill and @brushingboots.bsky.social uncover how the aristocracy still shapes Britain today.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #Aristocracy #BritishHistory #Podcast
This week on History Rage, Paul Bavill and @brushingboots.bsky.social uncover how the aristocracy still shapes Britain today.
🎧 www.patreon.com/post...
#HistoryRage #Aristocracy #BritishHistory #Podcast
I had a fine day out in Bishop Auckland with Jonathan Ruffer, the man who predicted the credit crunch, who was earning the national average wage every six hours in 2015, who could buy Whistlejacket ten times over. This week's Great Estates is on Auckland Palace
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/0d6ac5c...
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/0d6ac5c...
‘I’m one of the meanest people I know’: the fund manager who spent millions saving a castle
Great Estates: Jonathan Ruffer set his sights on Auckland Palace after cashing in on the 2008 financial crash
www.telegraph.co.uk
December 15, 2025 at 10:03 AM
I had a fine day out in Bishop Auckland with Jonathan Ruffer, the man who predicted the credit crunch, who was earning the national average wage every six hours in 2015, who could buy Whistlejacket ten times over. This week's Great Estates is on Auckland Palace
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/0d6ac5c...
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/0d6ac5c...
Reposted by Eleanor Doughty
🚨NEXT WEEK FOR SUBSCRIBERS🚨 Paul Bavill dives in with journalist & author @brushingboots.bsky.social to rip apart the myths of Britain’s modern aristocracy 🏰🔥 Land, Wentworth Woodhouse, National Trust & what the upper class really looks like
Early access: patreon.com/historyrage or Apple subs.
Early access: patreon.com/historyrage or Apple subs.
December 13, 2025 at 6:00 PM
🚨NEXT WEEK FOR SUBSCRIBERS🚨 Paul Bavill dives in with journalist & author @brushingboots.bsky.social to rip apart the myths of Britain’s modern aristocracy 🏰🔥 Land, Wentworth Woodhouse, National Trust & what the upper class really looks like
Early access: patreon.com/historyrage or Apple subs.
Early access: patreon.com/historyrage or Apple subs.
Officially made it now my book has been parodied in Private Eye! And yes this will be going in my downstairs loo. Amazing and hilarious and not at all mean – a bonus!
December 5, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Officially made it now my book has been parodied in Private Eye! And yes this will be going in my downstairs loo. Amazing and hilarious and not at all mean – a bonus!
This week's Great Estates is on Salwey Lodge – a wholesome, wise tale this time, about love, loss and escaping the city for rural Shropshire
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/b68fbb9...
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/b68fbb9...
‘I turned my 1,000-acre estate into a country retreat to help people recover from the rat race’
Great Estates: The rural 1740s lodge where burnt-out city guests go to get the colour back into their faces
www.telegraph.co.uk
December 1, 2025 at 9:31 AM
This week's Great Estates is on Salwey Lodge – a wholesome, wise tale this time, about love, loss and escaping the city for rural Shropshire
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/b68fbb9...
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/b68fbb9...
Nice to see that the Desert Fox is now working for DPD
November 28, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Nice to see that the Desert Fox is now working for DPD
Sweet lord there is someone on this train talking about sovereignty and ‘taking back control’ and suddenly it is 2015 again
November 26, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Sweet lord there is someone on this train talking about sovereignty and ‘taking back control’ and suddenly it is 2015 again
Reposted by Eleanor Doughty
Highly recommended.
Even I, an Irish socialist, found it engrossing and educational :)
Even I, an Irish socialist, found it engrossing and educational :)
Super excited to say that I’ll be at Hatchards Piccadilly tomorrow signing books for their Christmas customer evening! Come and buy a copy of HEIRS AND GRACES, a history of the modern British aristocracy, from me! It makes a delicious Christmas present
www.hatchards.co.uk/events/hatch...
www.hatchards.co.uk/events/hatch...
www.hatchards.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Highly recommended.
Even I, an Irish socialist, found it engrossing and educational :)
Even I, an Irish socialist, found it engrossing and educational :)