Summary
God's Architect: Pugin and the Building of Romantic Britain by Rosemary Hill (Penguin, [pounds]10.99) THE Victorian architect Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin was an extravagant but tormented soul who was shipwrecked, bankrupted and widowed twice by the time of his death (probably of syphilis) aged 40. No wonder he went bonkers.
Seduced by Latin and crockets, smells and bells, he wanted Roman Catholicism to inspire English architecture. His ravishingly scented version of the Gothic revival would "hold together art and God". His temperament alternating between jollity and blubbing in public produced an uneven body of work, and while his ideas became influential and there were notable successes (the clocktower that became "Big Ben"), too many projects were blighted.See the full content of this document
Extract
Paperbacks
Rosemary Hill's scholarly biog paints a full-bodied picture of this passionate figure: "When work went well...
See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
