
Guinness: A Family Succession
The True Story of the Struggle to Create the World's Largest Brewery
Scala Publishers Ltd
Published on 25. September 2025
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-1-78551-609-2 (ISBN)
Description
The head of the Guinness family tells the dramatic true story of how his ancestors created the largest brewery in the world.
Growing up at Farmleigh, the country house outside Dublin, Arthur Edward Guinness - Ned for short - was fascinated by the secrets and legends that surrounded the early generations of his famous family of brewers.
Against the backdrop of epic and convulsive times in Ireland and Britain, he explores the struggles and passions of his ancestors, who went from obscurity in Kildare to the pinnacle of Irish and British society.
Each generation confronted new challenges until the dramatic events when the author's great-great-grandfather bought out his glamorous older brother and floated Guinness on the stock exchange. Overnight Edward Cecil Guinness became Ireland's richest man.
This is a tale in which brewing genius, sibling rivalry, bounteous philanthropy and astonishing social mobility are interwoven with historic national events, including the Act of Union, Catholic Emancipation, the Famine, the Home Rule movement, the Dublin Lockout and ultimately Irish independence. It is the inside story, as told by Ned Guinness.
"This book is far more than an account of the commercial success of Guinness; it's also a love letter to the city which produced it."
- The Irish Independent
"The definitive history of the Guinness brewing dynasty"
- The Irish Independent
"A fantastic book"
- RTE The Business
Growing up at Farmleigh, the country house outside Dublin, Arthur Edward Guinness - Ned for short - was fascinated by the secrets and legends that surrounded the early generations of his famous family of brewers.
Against the backdrop of epic and convulsive times in Ireland and Britain, he explores the struggles and passions of his ancestors, who went from obscurity in Kildare to the pinnacle of Irish and British society.
Each generation confronted new challenges until the dramatic events when the author's great-great-grandfather bought out his glamorous older brother and floated Guinness on the stock exchange. Overnight Edward Cecil Guinness became Ireland's richest man.
This is a tale in which brewing genius, sibling rivalry, bounteous philanthropy and astonishing social mobility are interwoven with historic national events, including the Act of Union, Catholic Emancipation, the Famine, the Home Rule movement, the Dublin Lockout and ultimately Irish independence. It is the inside story, as told by Ned Guinness.
"This book is far more than an account of the commercial success of Guinness; it's also a love letter to the city which produced it."
- The Irish Independent
"The definitive history of the Guinness brewing dynasty"
- The Irish Independent
"A fantastic book"
- RTE The Business
Reviews / Votes
'This book is far more than an account of the commercial success of Guinness; it's also a love letter to the city which produced it.' -- The Irish Independent 'A fantastic book.' -- RTE The Business 'The definitive history of the Guinness brewing dynasty' -- The Irish Independent "it's a brilliant, entertaining read for a dark October evening." -- The Gloss 'An excellent new book.' -- Molly GuinnessMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
55 colour and b-w photographs
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
415 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78551-609-2 (9781785516092)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Arthur Edward Guinness | Antonia Hart
Guinness: A Family Succession
THE IRISH TIMES BESTSELLER: The True Story of the Struggle to Create the World's Largest Brewery
Book
approx. 07/2026
Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd
€14.00
Not yet published
Persons
Arthur Edward Guinness, the 4th Earl of Iveagh, was born in Dublin, raised in Farmleigh and educated in Ireland and England. Ned is a farmer at Elveden, Suffolk and Co. Meath, Ireland. He is active in the promotion of Guinness beer, the interests of social housing and community amenities in central Dublin. Antonia Hart is an Irish historian and writer. She is the author of Ghost Signs of Dublin and The Commercial Lives of Irish Women 1850-1922: Business as Usual.
Content
Family Tree
Illustration Credits
Note on Names
Prologue
1. Arthur's Way
2. Opening the Gate
3. Dipping and Rising
4. One of My Sons
5. Protest and Pledge
6. Brewer's Bounty
7. Inheritance
8. The Brothers Guinness
9. By Mutual Consent
10. Enough to Make Us All Stare
11. The Edwardian Age
12. Change of Season
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Further Reading
Index
Illustration Credits
Note on Names
Prologue
1. Arthur's Way
2. Opening the Gate
3. Dipping and Rising
4. One of My Sons
5. Protest and Pledge
6. Brewer's Bounty
7. Inheritance
8. The Brothers Guinness
9. By Mutual Consent
10. Enough to Make Us All Stare
11. The Edwardian Age
12. Change of Season
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Further Reading
Index