The English are geniuses at mixing practicality with beauty, as this rich visual anthology of handsome cottages proves. Trace the evolution of these charming homes, from early railway cottages and "improvised" dwellings to model cottages erected by philanthropists and the bucolic follies dreamed up by 18th-century aristocrats. "The cottages are treasures, the eye is bewitched for a long time."--"The Sunday Times,"