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God's Architect: Pugin and the Building of Romantic Britain
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 It draws on thousands of unpublished letters and drawings to recreate his life and work as architect, propagandist and romantic artist as well as the turbulent story of his three marriages, the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.
624 pages, Hardcover
First published August 2, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 18, 2021
An extraordinarily enlightening and precious biography because it not only lets you in to Pugin’s mind, life and works, but it also paints such a complete and fascinating picture of early nineteenth century life during his time. We learn of the trials and tribulations that a talented Pugin went through to get any form of recognition, how hard he had worked all his short life to the cost of his family and himself, and especially how he had to contend with the ups and (more often) downs. We learn of the Catholic struggle to finally become re-accepted in English society and efforts to take advantage over the Protestants when they could; it could all have ended so differently. This was a privilege to read. If I ever have to clear my bookshelves, this one will stay.
September 13, 2008
Yes it is possible to laugh out loud at a biography of a Victorian architect who was linked with the Oxford Movement. Wonderful. Moving. And very interesting.
Want to read
November 1, 200970% off in the Borders clearance sale. Yeh!
May 21, 2017
Arguably the most prolific architect of his generation and perhaps the greatest ever authority on Gothic style, Pugin was a rather extraordinary character, spending most of his life "between the extremes of admiration and contempt, between images of himself as genius and gibbering bigot". Pugin certainly lived his life at full speed; in three years alone he built twenty-two churches, three cathedrals, three convents and a Cistercian monastery. Despite being the architect responsible for Big Ben, that icon of Britishness, Pugin has been sadly neglected on the biography front but Rosemary Hill has more than made up for that with the excellent God's Architect. Hill manages to plot a clear path through Pugin's volatile life while also exploring the wider issues of early Victorian politics, theology and taste.
March 6, 2014
Starts BBC7 Monday 17th - this looks tantalisingWritten by Rosemary Hill and read by Haydn Gwynne.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2011
The eventful career and turbulent life of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xh65n
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xh65n
November 11, 2016
List of Illustrations
--God's Architect
Abbreviations
List of Works
Select Bibliography
Notes
Acknowledgements
Index
--God's Architect
Abbreviations
List of Works
Select Bibliography
Notes
Acknowledgements
Index
September 4, 2017
Every piece of great work can't be done without a hardworking determined person with consistent effort. Pugin's building style is not only 'Western' but actually very British when we compare all the Western architectural styles carefully in details. Buildings are functional pieces of art that can't be only practically made to use, but have to be pleasant to look at if we aim to make the artificial world beautiful. However, the word 'beautiful' is too controversial to be discussed these days, therefore this kind of books provide us good opportunities to know about the famous architects and their works in depth. Possibly if we are able to, we can make the world more beautiful with careful thoughts while reading and learning from the great people like Pugin.
September 1, 2019
Goodreads has cleared all of my ratings and won’t let me add new ones. Not sure why or how to fix. In any case, this is a 3. I would give it a four for the scholarly work that clearly went into it, but it just didn’t flow for me and I struggled to get through it. Nonetheless, I learned a lot about architecture and I’m glad I read it.
May 10, 2022
An excellent book. I was vaguely familiar with Pugin's major works, so this book was everything I hoped it would be. His architecture, domestic life, faith and personality all weave together to create a detailed and fascinating tapestry of his life. I will definitely read it again some day, once I have visited a few more of the locations that meant so much to Pugin.
March 5, 2018
Rosemary Hill has written the definitive biography of A W N Pugin, who in his short life did more than anyone else to promote the Gothic style in Britain. Pugin worked at a breathtaking rate, designing a bewildering number of ecclesiastical projects before he was thirty, taking advantage of the new railway system to supervise his buildings, with office hours which he said were 6 am to 10 pm - and working surrounded by a large, noisy family at home in Ramsgate. Hill recounts his passionate relationships, his difficulties in marriage and his eccentric ecclesiology, which was not always in line with Catholic teaching. His work on the Houses of Parliament is fully documented, along with the facts of Barry's attempt to prevent his just recognition. His final illness is recounted in touching detail.
January 1, 2011
I had expected this book to focus on Pugin's religious and social vision as an architect, but this was more of a straight biography. Interesting and enlightening in places, the book focused too extensively on his life to the exclusion of his vision.
February 26, 2016
A fine biography of a man who left his mark all over Britain but whose life is no less remarkable than the churches he erected.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews