Author: Weeks Stephen
Place: London
Publisher: British Broadcasting Corporation
Year: 1979
Pages: 104
ISBN: 0 563 17516 8
Source: Donated by Rahul Mehrotra
Subject: Bombay/ Mumbai
Sub-Subject: History
Keyword: Architectural History
Classification: 720.9
Shelf: C4R2
Accession No: B345
Contents: Introduction by Penelope Chetwode 1- Lost Empires 2- Sussex, Sahib 3- The Fly in Amber 4- How the Mighty Fall 5- Torn Sun-Curtains 6- An Upstairs Corridor 7- Where the Twain Meet Acknowledgements
Abstract: *Decaying Splendours* by Penelope Chetwode explores the decline of empires and the fading of cultural and personal grandeur through a series of reflective essays. Topics include the collapse of legacies in *Lost Empires*, the contrast of colonial history with rural beauty in *Sussex, Sahib*, and the fragility of human achievement in *The Fly in Amber*. Chetwode examines the fall of political structures in *How the Mighty Fall* and personal loss in *Torn Sun-Curtains*. The work meditates on the impermanence of all things, capturing the intersection of history, culture, and the inevitable passage of time with both beauty and melancholy.