John Goodall assembles a shortlist of his favourite architecture books published recently.
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A Short History of British Architecture
Simon Jenkins (Viking, £26.99)
There can never be too many introductions to the subject of architecture, the art form that none of us can escape. A readable and concise perspective.
Interwar: British Architecture 1919-39
Gavin Stamp (Profile Books, £40 hardback, £25 paperback)
A trailblazing study, posthumously published, that reveals the quality and stylistic variety of architecture in Britain between the world wars. A study that defines its subject.
John Goodall is Country Life’s Architectural Editor.
Sir Edwin Lutyens: Britain’s Greatest Architect?
Clive Aslet (Triglyph Books, £20)
A concise and engagingly written account of the life of this outstanding architect. The author — a former Editor — and architect both have close connections with Country Life.
British Architectural Sculpture 1851–1951
John Stewart (Lund Humphries, £45)
It’s remarkably easy to overlook architectural sculpture, but as soon as you have it pointed out, you realise how fascinating it is and that you can see it everywhere.
The Buildings of England: Staffordshire
Christopher Wakeling and Nikolaus Pevsner (Yale University Press, £45)
The last volume in the revised ‘Buildings of England’ series. With the foundational survey of architecture in Scotland and Wales also complete, we only await Ireland.
The British Country House Revival
Ben Cowell (The Boydell Press, £80)
Written by the director general of Historic Houses, this book describes the changing fortunes of the country house since the dark days of the 1970s and looks to their future.
The Language of Architectural Classicism
Edward McParland (Lund Humphreys, £35)
A book that encourages us to consider how the language of classicism has evolved and been applied over time. It’s refreshingly wide ranging, fun to read and thoughtfully illustrated.
Jewish Country Houses
Edited by Juliet Carey and Abigail Green (Profile Books, £45)
An account of the Jewish ownership of country houses across Europe. It is illustrated with photography by Hélène Binet.
A British Country House Alphabet: A Historical and Pictorial Journey Volume 1
Curt DiCamillo (New England Historic Genealogical Society, £20)
This is the first in a three-part survey — here covering the letters A–H — that looks at country houses through anecdote. It’s an unexpected and enjoyable read.
Streetscapes
Ptolemy Dean (Lund Humphreys, £45)
Illustrated with the author’s own distinctive water colours, this book looks at the street scapes of our historic towns and their evolution.
George Edmund Street
Geoff Brandwood (Liverpool University Press, £40)
The year 2024 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of this prolific Victorian architect, whose work includes countless churches, but also the Royal Courts of Justice on London’s Strand.
The Irish Aesthete: Buildings of Ireland, Lost and Found
Robert O’Byrne (Lilliput Press, £22.99)
A collection of atmospheric photographs of Irish ruins and abandoned houses. The images are accompanied by short histories and anecdotes.
