No. 10 DOWNING STREET: A House-in History

The ""indispensable"" Walpole (Sir Robert) joined three houses together in 35 and, ever since, No. 10 Downing Street has been the official residence of Britain's Prime Ministers. The author's deft handling of over 200 years worth of material on changes in the house itself as well as its tenants is noteworthy for the amount of information he has compressed so readably. The political events that led to the eviction of one P.M. and the installation of another, their families, their tastes and their times are all set forth with an eye for the telling phrase and a happy sense of how to combine the sublime with the ridiculous to good effect. Photographs of the house and its inhabitants dot the always interesting text which is followed by a thorough, annotated index. This is a careful history of an address that has been and will continue to be filled with iving history. Its anecdotal presentation is a pleasant route to much information of a more serious nature.