Founded on a remote Portuguese island in the Atlantic in the last years of the Napoleonic War, the Blandy firm has never ceased to trade in the unique wine for which Madeira is so famous. But the portfolio of businesses owned, developed, and run by the family over the years includes many of the central concerns of the period -- from coal and shipping to newspapers and hotels. Not many companies are still owned and run by the same family after 200 years, and now Marcus Binney tells the remarkable story of this survival and growth with verve and insight. It's an outstanding account of how a prominent family adapted their business and their expectations of it to survive and flourish into the 21st century, constructing and conserving some impressive buildings along the way and, especially, developing and maintaining an iconic and renowned product in one of the world's great wines.… (more)