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The Memory Palace: A Book of Lost Interiors
The rooms we live in are always more than just four walls. As we decorate these spaces and fill them with objects and friends, they shape our lives and become the backdrop to our sense of self. One day, the houses will be gone, but even then, traces of the stories and the memories they contained will remain. In this dazzling work of imaginative re-construction, Edward Hollis takes us to the sites of five great spaces now lost to history and pieces together the fragments he finds there to re-create their vanished chambers.
From Rome’s palatine to the old Palace of Westmisnter and the Petit Trianon at Versailles, and from the sets of the MGM studios in Hollywood to the pavilions of the Crystal Palace and his own grandmother’s sitting room, The Memory Palace is a glittering treasure trove of luminous forgotten places and the people who, for a short time, made them their home.
From Rome’s palatine to the old Palace of Westmisnter and the Petit Trianon at Versailles, and from the sets of the MGM studios in Hollywood to the pavilions of the Crystal Palace and his own grandmother’s sitting room, The Memory Palace is a glittering treasure trove of luminous forgotten places and the people who, for a short time, made them their home.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
19 people are currently reading
312 people want to read
About the author
Edward Hollis
12 books6 followersEdward Hollis studied Architecture at Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities and practised as an architect in Sri Lanka and Edinburgh. In 1999 he began lecturing at Napier University, Edinburgh and in 2004 he moved to Edinburgh College of Art, where he is Director of Research and Professor of Interior Design. His books include The Secret Lives of Buildings (2009), The Memory Palace: A Book of Lost Interiors (2013) and How to Make a Home (2016).
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 8, 2019
I came across a copy of ‘The Memory Palace’ in a charity shop and was intrigued enough by the cover and blurb to buy it. As I guessed from the title, it’s intersects with The Art of Memory by Frances Yates, a fantastic account of how physical structures were used as memory aids across history. ‘The Memory Palace’, however, has a far more sprawling theme. It isn’t a history of interiors as much as a series of historical vignettes that are loosely tied together by interior design. I found this vague structure rather frustrating, despite enjoying quite a bit of the actual material included. The trouble with a book of such wide scope is that it’s difficult to avoid slipping into trite truisms like, ‘But that’s the problem with beginnings. There’s always a beginning before the beginning’. I prefer it when books acknowledge this then specify what they will cover and why. Academia has made me even more of a killjoy, obviously.
The first few chapters were less satisfying, as the book proceeds in historical order and there is much less evidence and thus more speculation in distant eras. Despite some intriguing details, the cabinet of curiosities chapter was as fragmentary as its subject. I became more interested upon reaching the ‘Decor’ chapter, which centred upon the Palace of Versailles. The detailed description of Marie Antoinette’s boudoir and the various hidden niches of the palace were fascinating. Likewise, the account of the Great Exhibition is based on detailed evidence and includes striking newspaper commentary of the time. The final chapter flits around Gone With the Wind, Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, and Big Brother, before making some comments on cloud-based computing. Overall, there is some thoughtful and well-expressed historical material in here, but on the whole it is too scattered. Ironically given the title, I found it hard to remember what had been covered in each chapter once I got to the end. Such an ambitious book could have done with a tighter structure, I think, although I appreciated what it was trying to do. Perhaps keeping more closely to the social history framework provided by the author’s grandmother’s house would have worked better for me? Those with a more relaxed approach to non-fiction may find it more rewarding than I did.
The first few chapters were less satisfying, as the book proceeds in historical order and there is much less evidence and thus more speculation in distant eras. Despite some intriguing details, the cabinet of curiosities chapter was as fragmentary as its subject. I became more interested upon reaching the ‘Decor’ chapter, which centred upon the Palace of Versailles. The detailed description of Marie Antoinette’s boudoir and the various hidden niches of the palace were fascinating. Likewise, the account of the Great Exhibition is based on detailed evidence and includes striking newspaper commentary of the time. The final chapter flits around Gone With the Wind, Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, and Big Brother, before making some comments on cloud-based computing. Overall, there is some thoughtful and well-expressed historical material in here, but on the whole it is too scattered. Ironically given the title, I found it hard to remember what had been covered in each chapter once I got to the end. Such an ambitious book could have done with a tighter structure, I think, although I appreciated what it was trying to do. Perhaps keeping more closely to the social history framework provided by the author’s grandmother’s house would have worked better for me? Those with a more relaxed approach to non-fiction may find it more rewarding than I did.
October 3, 2013
A wonderful interior, indeed.
Sometimes a book should not appear as a paperback. This is one. The subject matter and the beauty of the writing fully justify the fine presentation. Full marks to Counterpoint, the publishers.
Edward Hollis' own prose is exceptionally smooth and unaffected and he has managed to find extracts to evidence his examples of interiors which are apt and well written so that there is no harsh contrast between author and person quoted.
This is non-fiction, a cry to preserve the moment, in tune with current taste for mindfulness. Nevertheless it is as easy and captivating a read as a novel. Time and money are spent preserving highly decorated interiors, but the ordinary domestic scene, Hollis shows us, has also so much to offer, historically and socially. This is just one stab at capturing all the Hollis has written.
I recommend you this book. You will not lose interest and you will close the last page feeling enriched.
Sometimes a book should not appear as a paperback. This is one. The subject matter and the beauty of the writing fully justify the fine presentation. Full marks to Counterpoint, the publishers.
Edward Hollis' own prose is exceptionally smooth and unaffected and he has managed to find extracts to evidence his examples of interiors which are apt and well written so that there is no harsh contrast between author and person quoted.
This is non-fiction, a cry to preserve the moment, in tune with current taste for mindfulness. Nevertheless it is as easy and captivating a read as a novel. Time and money are spent preserving highly decorated interiors, but the ordinary domestic scene, Hollis shows us, has also so much to offer, historically and socially. This is just one stab at capturing all the Hollis has written.
I recommend you this book. You will not lose interest and you will close the last page feeling enriched.
April 7, 2024
some chapters were a lot more successful that other chapters, in my opinion. i am wavering between a three star and a four star, but i think i have settled on a four star because i enjoyed the writing style a great deal, and the selection and curation of topics was extremely well done.
December 19, 2015
Perhaps just a little too deliberately eccentric and esoteric at times, but that's the point perhaps: that all our own artfully constructed interiors are really homages to memory and who we are? Sometimes he takes too long to say that and sometimes he's a little too clever by half, but it's saved and grounded by the 'doll's house' of his granny, which is all our dolls houses too.
March 5, 2015
I found I just wasn't that interested in the collection of disparate facts about historic rooms, furniture, or other objects having to do with just about anything. Then again, I am not a fan of Bryson, either.
This was a total bore.
This was a total bore.
February 19, 2023
A really fine book although not exactly a straight forward one to classify. If you have read his previous 'The Secret Life of Buildings' then you will understand. The title is absolutely accurate but totally unrevealing - the real explanation of what the book is comes in the introduction which is a memoir/tribute/remembrance of his grandmother's last sitting room which was a full of objects which represented not just his grandmother's life but that of her, and his, family and history. The room and the objects in were a memory of many things, places and people all which made up a whole history, but a transient one.
It is examining rooms in this book and buildings in his previous one as sites of memory that is the books forte. I still remember the way he discussed the Parthenon in Athens and the Colosseum in Rome in their ever changing look and function that brought out their history and meaning such thought provoking way.
His examinations are small essays each able to stand by themselves and often resurrect figures literatures unknown to the average reader. His discussion of the imperial palace in Constantinople and the room clad in purple porphyry, a perfect square with a pyramidal roof were the children emperor were born and and were thus Porphyrogenitai, born in the purple room, thus into the 'imperial purple' making them the most important if not the luckiest children born in the empire. He sees this room and many others in the Great Palace through the writings and the eyes of Anna Commena author of the 'Alexiad', rooms now lost as all the other extraordinary interiors, indeed the Palace of Balerchernane is itself almost entirely vanished as is the world of the Byzantine empire.
But through Edward Hollis that vanished world, palace, room and princess are recaptured and brought to light once again through her writings - some of the most evocative we have about that ancient world. Aside from anything it left me wanting, no needing, to read Anna Commena's 'Alexiad'.
That is what Hollis does in this book with a variety of interiors ranging from the Prague castle's
Kunstkammer of Rudolph II, Marie Antionette's bedroom at Versailles, the interior of the Crystal Palace in London and the Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta. Of course as I hope my previous words have shown a explanatory list like this explains nothing and is both honest and deceptive. That this is a book of palace interiors is both accurate and inaccurate. The part on Loew's Grand in Atlanta is about a movie house built over an opera house were the film Gone With the Wind premiered. A film that takes place in, amongst others the non existent interiors of a non existent plantation house. That then oves on to the coronation of Elizabeth II and the birth of TV within home and how it changed interiors.
It is easiest to say what this book isn't - it is not in way, shape or form a history if interior decoration. But it is a immensely thought provoking, intelligent, well written, fun and amusing book.
It is examining rooms in this book and buildings in his previous one as sites of memory that is the books forte. I still remember the way he discussed the Parthenon in Athens and the Colosseum in Rome in their ever changing look and function that brought out their history and meaning such thought provoking way.
His examinations are small essays each able to stand by themselves and often resurrect figures literatures unknown to the average reader. His discussion of the imperial palace in Constantinople and the room clad in purple porphyry, a perfect square with a pyramidal roof were the children emperor were born and and were thus Porphyrogenitai, born in the purple room, thus into the 'imperial purple' making them the most important if not the luckiest children born in the empire. He sees this room and many others in the Great Palace through the writings and the eyes of Anna Commena author of the 'Alexiad', rooms now lost as all the other extraordinary interiors, indeed the Palace of Balerchernane is itself almost entirely vanished as is the world of the Byzantine empire.
But through Edward Hollis that vanished world, palace, room and princess are recaptured and brought to light once again through her writings - some of the most evocative we have about that ancient world. Aside from anything it left me wanting, no needing, to read Anna Commena's 'Alexiad'.
That is what Hollis does in this book with a variety of interiors ranging from the Prague castle's
Kunstkammer of Rudolph II, Marie Antionette's bedroom at Versailles, the interior of the Crystal Palace in London and the Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta. Of course as I hope my previous words have shown a explanatory list like this explains nothing and is both honest and deceptive. That this is a book of palace interiors is both accurate and inaccurate. The part on Loew's Grand in Atlanta is about a movie house built over an opera house were the film Gone With the Wind premiered. A film that takes place in, amongst others the non existent interiors of a non existent plantation house. That then oves on to the coronation of Elizabeth II and the birth of TV within home and how it changed interiors.
It is easiest to say what this book isn't - it is not in way, shape or form a history if interior decoration. But it is a immensely thought provoking, intelligent, well written, fun and amusing book.
March 15, 2022
This one was tough going. Parts of it were brilliant pieces of history. Other sections just went on and on with no real point or new information. I am pleased to have read it, but would not recommend it to others unless they are fans of tedious architectural historical anecdotes.
June 15, 2022
so so adorable. so cute. wasnr at all what i was expected either. took it because it seemed like a funny littke book about furniture but then turned into one of the most appealing philosophical rants about his love for his grandma and little tidbits from history 10/10
November 26, 2016
I expected this to be more of an architectural or interior design type of book. But it is more of a history, both of objects and the words that represent them. An example would be a cabinet. Hollis talks about the use of one, both currently and historically, and also discusses how the word came to be associated with what we today would call a cabinet. He begins the book by describing a memorization technique used by ancient bards and story-tellers. They would picture a chamber (the memory palace) filled with objects; each object would then get a story associated with it. The bard could then travel around the chamber in his mind, telling that piece of lore that he had tagged the object with. Hollis uses his granny's sitting room as a memory palace, with each object or part of the room triggering a story. The stories themselves lead to places that no longer exist, such as the Crystal Palace of Victorian England. Some of the stories are fascinating bits of arcane history; others get a little dry with discussions of ancient Roman legends. A good book for those enjoying history or etymology.
February 28, 2016
I wasn't sure I was going to finish this book. The first two sections are pretty slow-moving and way too detailed for my taste. But the story picked up in speed after that, and I loved reading the rest of the book. This is a book that on the surface is about buildings and the memories that are associated with them, but it certainly offers ideas for deeper thought about memories and where and how we store them, especially in the age of the Cloud.
September 11, 2013
A must-read for Interior Design students and Art and Architecture enthusiasts. Witty, charming and heartwarming yet critical and sharp.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews