God's Architect: Pugin and the Building of Romantic Britain - Hardcover

Hill, Rosemary

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0713994991 ISBN 13: 9780713994995

Publisher: Allen Lane, 2007

Synopsis

Pugin was one of Britain’s greatest architects and his short career one of the most dramatic in architectural history. Born in 1812, the son of the soi-disant Comte de Pugin, at 15 Pugin was working for King George IV at Windsor Castle. By the time he was 21 he had been shipwrecked, bankrupted and widowed. Nineteen years later he died, insane and disillusioned, having changed the face and the mind of British architecture.

Pugin’s bohemian early career as an antique dealer and scenery designer at Covent Garden came to a sudden end with a series of devastating bereavements, including the loss of his first wife in childbirth. In the aftermath he formed a vision of Gothic architecture that was both romantic and deeply religious. He became a Catholic and in 1836 published Contrasts, the first architectural manifesto. It called on the 19th century to reform its cities if it wanted to save its soul.

Once launched, Pugin’s career was torrential. Before he was 30 he had designed 22 churches, three cathedrals, half a dozen extraordinary houses and a Cistercian monastery. For eight years he worked with Charles Barry on the Palace of Westminster creating its sumptuous interiors, the House of Lords and the clock ‘Big Ben’ that became one of Britain’s most famous landmarks. He was the first architect-designer to cater for the middle-classes, producing everything from plant pots to wallpaper and early flat-pack furniture.

God’s Architect is the first full modern biography of this extraordinary figure. It draws on thousands of unpublished letters and drawings to recreate his life and work as architect, propagandist and romantic artist as well as the turbulent story of his three marriages, the bitterness of his last years and his sudden death at 40. It is the debut of a remarkable historian and biographer.

About this title

Review:

'A magnificent biography, as sumptuous and intricate as anything Pugin built' -- The Sunday Times, John Carey

'An excellent and detailed biography' -- The Times, Peter Ackroyd

'Hill's absorbing book is a marvellously clear guide through the agitated density of Pugin's life ... the picture is unforgettable.' -- The Guardian, Alan Hollinghurst

'as the readable biography of a most protean and brilliant man, it is worthy of the best of his buildings' -- Irish Times, Colm Toibin

'A marvellous biography.'
-- Economist

'A meticulously researched, admirably illustrated and beautifully written account of this maverick genius.' -- James Joll, Spectator

'A superb study of this true romantic and tragic original. It is scholarly, but intimate, warm and readable too, immediately becoming the standard work.' -- Stephen Bayley, Observer

'This book is by far the best biography of Pugin. Moreover, it is sympathetically and wittily written, full of insight and delightful turns of phrase....this book depicts the whole man - 'tremendously hearty' yet dejected, writer, artist, Catholic. It will not easily be superceded.' -- John Martin Robinson, Literary Review

'This is surely the best biography of a British architect yet written: an enthralling book.' -- Simon Bradley, Evening Standard

'a very remarkable book about a very remarkable man' -- Daily Mail, A.N. Wilson

About the Author:

Rosemary Hill is a writer and historian and a trustee of the Victorian Society. She has published widely on 19th and 20th century cultural history and sits on the editorial board of the London Review of Books. From 2004-05 she was a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford.

About this edition

• Publisher: Allen Lane
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0713994991
• ISBN 13: 9780713994995
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 624