Nice historical information on the dishes for recipes included in the book, as well as the palaces.
I thought this was a book for hosting tea parties, but it's a book on etiquette for hosting many differnt types of parties.
There were a few recipes of foods I thought were worth trying. Other's seems a bit time consuming.
The book did make me want an estate manager, i.e. butler! ( )

I had to get this book it has a recipe mini Scotch eggs and Punch jelly, which is an extremely alcoholic jelly made of rum and brandy. It has a section on planning parties, including information on plates, silverware, glassware and even directions on how to fold two different kinds of napkins, and as the title suggests - manners.

It is arranged by season, and even has a small wedding section. It has little tidbits of information sprinkled throughout, history of the dishes, traditions and even some about Princess Diana and the royal family. It has some cute recipes for children like spooky jacket potatoes, which are basically twice baked potatoes with black olive decorations making them look like ghosts. Besides the mini Scotch eggs there is also mini Cornish pasties . Each section also has a table arrangement, usually flowers with directions as to how you can re-create them for your table. ( )