An Entertaining Story

© An Entertaining Story by India Hicks, Rizzoli New York, 2020
India Hicks is world-renowned for her irreverent take on style and interior design. In her two previous books, she invited readers into her homes on Harbour Island and in England, and in her latest, AN ENTERTAINING STORY, Hicks presents her own slightly madcap spin on entertaining. Organized by meal, the book begins marvelously with the most important meal of the day—cocktail hour—and ends with breakfast. In between, there are family suppers and big dinners, birthday cakes and Christmas crackers, great British breakfasts, quick teas, and long lunches. Like Hicks, herself, these stories are full of personality, from the Panic Dinner (or what to do when you suddenly have a crowd descending) to Find a Theme (and buy a glue gun) and Hot and Cold Christmas (and our weird traditions) —as well as a parade of memorable guests from Mick Jagger to an uninvited snake who startled a group of magazine editors from New York.
Each celebration includes clever advice and inspiration for place settings, homemade flower arrangements, table design, and more. These are parties that make use of what is on hand, whether it is beach towels and bed covers thrown down a long table, children’s candy piled in cups on a tray, mustard pots used as vases, or massing palm fronds collected from the garden. Beautifully photographed and embellished with a bit of Hicks family lore, AN ENTERTAINING STORY is rounded out with a sprinkling of recipes from India’s beloved cook, Claire Williams, fondly known as Top Banana, and other family members, from traditional English fare such as Victoria Sponge to tropical treats such as the Marquess’s Banana Daiquiri.

photo credit: Brittan Goetz
Humorous, deeply personal, and thoroughly inviting, this is the book that fans of this style icon have been waiting for.
About the Author
Author, model, entrepreneur, TV personality, and daughter of famed designer David Hicks, India Hicks comes from both British and design royalty. She and her work have been featured in numerous magazines including Architectural Digest, Town & Country, House Beautiful, People, Forbes, and many other publications. Hicks hosted the second season of the Bravo interior design competition Top Design and is the New York Times best-selling author of several books including India Hicks: Island Style and India Hicks: A Slice of England, both published by Rizzoli New York.
Additional Contributors
Brooke Shields is an award-winning actress, model, and bestselling author. Brittan Goetz is a lifestyle photographer, art director and digital designer who whose work has appeared in Martha Stewart Weddings, Harper’s Bazaar, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Award-winning, and internationally acclaimed photographer David Loftus has photographed more than 100 books over the past twenty years.