God's Architect: Pugin And The Building Of Romantic Britain

by Rosemary Hill

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.

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 It draws on thousands of unpublished letters and drawings to recreate his life and work as architect, propagandist and romantic artist as well as the turbulent story of his three marriages, the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.

Genres: History, Architecture, Biography, Art, Nonfiction, 19th Century, British Literature

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 2, 2007

Reviews

[Elentarri · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and well-written, though sometimes bogged down by minutiae, biography of someone I'd never heard of. What makes this biography interesting is that it is not a biography of a King or Queen, but of a 19th century, British, self-taught architect, so you get to see what life was like for the ordinary folk. P.S.: I like Pugin's gothic architecture much more than these modern, unaesthetic blocks of unaesthetic concrete.

Article: https://catholicmagazine.news/augustu...

[Ed Crutchley · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Lazarus P Badpenny Esq]

70% off in the Borders clearance sale. Yeh!

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts BBC7 Monday 17th - this looks tantalising

Written by Rosemary Hill and read by Haydn Gwynne.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/...

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The eventful career and turbulent life of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xh65n

[E. G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

List of Illustrations

--God's Architect

Abbreviations
List of Works
Select Bibliography
Notes
Acknowledgements
Index

[Suyen HU · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Brian Gowthorpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every bit as good as those who praise it have said. Rosemary Hill brings Pugin to life and restores his lost reputation. Perhaps, like Fiona McCarthy’s outstanding biography of William Morris, it takes a sympathetic woman to empathise with her subject, his family and friends. This biography carefully places its subject in his historical context and explains the Tractarians very well. Pugin’s feuds are also carefully explained: those with JH Newman and Ruskin acted to damage his later reputation. Pugin’s romantic Catholicism was very theatrical and influenced by his youthful adventures in set design. He loved the Sarum rite, the rood screen, vestments and incense. He needed family life and the company of women.

[Annm · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Katherine van Kroonenburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Marshall Colman · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Toby · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.