16 pages of illustrations, 152 b/w photographs in text Considered one of the grande dames of interior design, Lancaster created, through her firm Colefax and Fowler, the "English country look" of faded elegance accented with flowers and chintz. Born a Langhorne of Virginia (her aunts included Nancy Astor, the first female Member of Parliament, and Irene Gibson, whose illustrator husband immortalized her as the Gibson Girl), Nancy married Ronald Tree and lived her adult life in English society, where she earned her reputation from the decoration of her own homes. Journalist Becker allows Lancaster to tell her own story, focusing on her homes and gardens while giving an entertaining description of wealthy Anglo-American life during the 20th century. Appropriate for larger biography and design collections.?Gayle A. Williamson, formerly with Fashion Inst. of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. Nancy Lancaster (1897^-1994) was a daughter of one of the famous Langhorne sisters of Virginia, one of whom became Lady Astor, the first woman elected to the British House of Commons, while another married illustrator Charles Dana Gibson and became the original so-called Gibson girl, a "look" popular after the turn of the century. Nancy was born on the Langhorne family estate, over which her grandfather, a Confederate veteran, reigned as benevolent monarch. Excerpts of her memoir alternate with excerpts of biographical narrative by writer Becker to reveal luscious details of a life of privilege--from birth through childhood, to schooling in Europe, to a first marriage to the grandson of Chicago magnate Marshall Field, to a subsequent marriage to a handsome, rich Englishman, to her development as a noted interior decorator and garden designer. This is excellent social history but of a rarefied kind; not all readers will be interested in this tale of upper-class living, well presented though it is. Brad Hooper illustrations, 152 b/w photographs in text