England: The Last Hurrah

By (author) Jones Dafydd
Short description/annotation:
This follow-up to the acclaimed Oxford: The Last Hurrah shines fresh light on the antics and opulence of the English upper classes in the 1980s.
Description:

"...the panorama of a self-forgotten milieu."  — Monopol
"Toffs behaving badly: 1980s high society in photos." — The Times

“The pictorial equivalents of Evelyn Waugh’s sentences.” — The New Yorker

"Modest though he is, Dafydd’s photographs will endure for having perfectly captured a society on the brink of decline. Unmissable listening." — Country & Townhouse podcast

"Wonderfully ironic, every point in the picture ignites and knows how to entertain very well." — Lovely Books

“Dafydd catches those moments of genuine exhilaration, wealth and youth.” — The Hollywood Reporter

“I wondered if the party guests I’d photographed were just re-enacting a nostalgic fantasy, an imaginary version of England that already no longer existed.” – Dafydd Jones

Throughout the 1980s, award-winning photographer Dafydd Jones was granted access to some of England’s most exclusive upper-class events. Now, the author of Oxford: The Last Hurrah presents this irreverent and intimate portrait of birthday parties and charity balls, Eton picnics and private school celebrations.

With the crack of a hunting rifle and a spray of champagne, these photos give an almost cinematic account of high-society England at its most riotous and its most vulnerable. Against the backdrop of Thatcher’s Britain, globalisation, the Falklands War, rising stocks and dwindling inherited fortunes, Jones reveals the inner lives of the established elite as they party long into the night-time of their fading world.

Praise for Oxford: The Last Hurrah

‘Sublime vintage photographs...’ – Hermione Eyre, The Telegraph

‘In The Last Hurrah...we see familiar faces from British high society poised on the brink of adulthood.’ – Eve Watling, Independent

Review quote:
"...the panorama of a self-forgotten milieu." - Monopol
Review quote:
"Toffs behaving badly: 1980s high society in photos." - The Times
Review quote:
"Society photographer Dafydd Jones on the special edition of his book capturing the Oxford of the 1980s." - Tatler
Review quote:
“The pictorial equivalents of Evelyn Waugh’s sentences.” - Tina Brown, The New Yorker
Review quote:
"In England: The Last Hurrah (ACC Art Books), photographer, Dafydd Jones, provides an inside look at the fan- tastical pomp and promenading of England’s upper crust from a bygone era." - Flaunt Magazine
Review quote:
"Photo London offers a host of panels, book signings, workshops, and exhibitions—don’t miss Dafydd Jones’s “England: The Last Hurrah,” photographs that document the Eton picnics and tony birthday parties attended by the country’s upper echelons in the 1980s." - Airmail
Review quote:
"Modest though he is, Dafydd’s photographs will endure for having perfectly captured a society on the brink of decline. Unmissable listening." - Country & Townhouse podcast
Review quote:
"The image, along with others from the time, appears in a new book, England: The Last Hurrah (ACC Art Books), by photographer Dafydd Jones, who has worked for The Times, The Daily Telegraph and Tatler in a career that started in the 80s." - Waitrose Weekend
Review quote:
"A nostalgic remembrance of things past, Jones''s newest photo book, England: The Last Hurrah, is a brilliant pre-social media feed of saucy snaps that are sure to entertain." - Guest of a Guest
Revie