Christopher Wren

Very Interesting People #9

by Kerry Downes

Definitive, concise, and very interesting... From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures - people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time. Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Genres: Biography, Architecture, History, Nonfiction

104 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1970

About the author

An English architectural historian specialising in English Baroque architecture, Kerry John Downes was Professor of History of Art at University of Reading from 1978 until 1991.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much as his most famous building does over the skyline of central London today, Christopher Wren towers over the history of British architecture. Yet as Kerry Downes reminds us, he was so much more than that. Born to a High Anglican minister, he demonstrated a scientific aptitude that led to appointments to a chair of astronomy at first Gresham College, then to the Savilian chair at Oxford. He came to architecture almost incidentally, yet his genius led to his appointment as surveyor of the king’s works at the age of 36, a position he would hold for nearly four decades. Coming in the aftermath of the Great Fire of London, the disaster not only paved the way for the reconstruction of St, Paul’s Cathedral but work on churches in dozens of parishes throughout the city, all of which bore the hallmark of his genius.

In assessing Wren’s architectural achievements, there are few better guides than Downes, a longtime architectural historian and the author of several books on the architect. Taken from the entry he wrote on Wren for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, it is a good overview of his life and achievements. While it suffers from the absence of images of the buildings Downes describes, it offers a well rounded assessment of Wren’s accomplishments, one that does not overlook his scientific work as all too many other studies tend to do. For anyone seeking an introduction to the man and his achievements, this is the book to read.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sufficient introduction to Wren for a scholar, but the name dropping of random people, unclear connections, and confusing timelines made it hard to follow why Wren was chosen by Charles II for all these buildingprojects.

[Rosy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's on my desk. I'm only reading it when I have to reboot!

Having just made that statement, I picked up the book and finished it between library books. It's a nice potted bio, and I find the design and concept of the series fun, but this was a tiny bit dry--and no pictures! It turned out to be a good book to have by my PC, because I kept looking at the various buildings on the internet. Probably should be two stars, but that felt unkind...