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Christopher Wren
137 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1951
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 18, 2010
Ever since visiting St Paul's Cathedral as a young boy I have been fascinated with Christopher Wren and I thought it about time I read something about him.
Martin Briggs' book is relatively brief but most informative. I did not realise that initially Wren was a mathematician, scientist and astronomer and that his architectural interests began after the Great Fire of London in 1666 when he put forward a plan for rebuilding the city.
His plan was not acted upon but he found himself involved with much of the rebuilding, particularly the churches that had disappeared, with a special responsibility for St Paul's Cathedral. But he is most certainly not a one-hit wonder with his buildings for he has designed hundreds of others all over the south of England.
He was very friendly with royalty and all the important people of the day, worked into his 80s (let's hope we all can do so!) and died in his 91st year. There is a chapter on his home life but his private life was not as well documented as his official one, perhaps because "Wren's career was one of incessant labour".
A most enjoyable read but it does leave the reader perhaps wanting more detail (and I have another much larger biography that might get a read one day!).
Martin Briggs' book is relatively brief but most informative. I did not realise that initially Wren was a mathematician, scientist and astronomer and that his architectural interests began after the Great Fire of London in 1666 when he put forward a plan for rebuilding the city.
His plan was not acted upon but he found himself involved with much of the rebuilding, particularly the churches that had disappeared, with a special responsibility for St Paul's Cathedral. But he is most certainly not a one-hit wonder with his buildings for he has designed hundreds of others all over the south of England.
He was very friendly with royalty and all the important people of the day, worked into his 80s (let's hope we all can do so!) and died in his 91st year. There is a chapter on his home life but his private life was not as well documented as his official one, perhaps because "Wren's career was one of incessant labour".
A most enjoyable read but it does leave the reader perhaps wanting more detail (and I have another much larger biography that might get a read one day!).
September 22, 2015
If you like learning about people or architecture, this book is for you. It talks little of his life. It is mostly about his progression into architecture and the buildings he has built. However it doesn't go into immense detail.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews