Overview

Although more than a century has passed since the end of the Victorian era, the great achievements of the period 1837-1901 are grossly undervalued. Phrases such as 'Victorian monstrosity' are bandied about by many who ought to know better. Professor Curl's robustly argued and beautifully illustrated book shows that the Victorians produced confident, colourful, rumbustiously eclectic architecture, and that they went further than anyone since Roman times to potty-train Urban Man. He deals with the palette of styles available to the Victorians; unprecedented building-types; new materials; ecclesiastical buildings that, arguably, were superior to mediaeval exemplars; the responses of a vital society to contemporary challenges; and puts the built fabric firmly within the context of the intellectual complexities of the age. Wearing his learning lightly, he presents his case with grace, gusto and elegance, bringing the Victorian period to new life in a work which will give readers much to ponder, savour and enjoy.

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9781904965060

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Reviews

a remarkable contribution to architectural publishing and will provide a huge insight into the architecture of the period' Perspective: The Journal of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects 2008 Those of us who think we know our Victorian architecture will find unfamiliar but wonderful buildings on almost every page of this vast and magisterial work which it is hard to imagine being superceded.' -- David Watkin The Architectural Review 2008 overall, it has the best range of illustrations of Victorian architecture that this reviewer has ever seen in a single volume. [It] is a magnificent achievement, a labour of love for the subject we all love, by a scholar who has devoted several decades to its study.' -- Steven Brindle The Victorian 2008 a heroic publishing achievement' -- Roger Bowdler The Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery 2008

Author Information

Professor Emeritus James Stevens Curl is a distinguished architectural historian. He has acquired an enviable international reputation for thorough research, often investigating subjects avoided by those of a more timid disposition. New nearing the end of his seventh decade, his acerbic wit, intellectual curiosity and fluency of expression remain undiminished.

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