Product Description

At the height of the Victorian period, a craze for Gothic style swept England and spread far beyond. Gothic architecture, associated with the social and cultural ideals of the Middle Ages, was seen as a means of remaking the modern world. In this exposition, Chris Brooks unravels the layers of meaning that Gothic held for its many reinventors: from the political uses of Gothic history in the 17th century to Barry and Pugin's Houses of Parliament in the mid-19th century. Yet Gothic is not just buildings: continually recreated, it has taken the form of poetry and fiction, of painting and sculpture, of movies and video games, of Gothic music and Gothic punk. Gothic became a dominant cultural and architectural force not only in 19th-century Britain, but across Europe, in the United States and in the countries of the British Empire. It is still pervasive. This book deals comprehensively with the whole scope of the Gothic Revival.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1062772 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

From the Publisher
At the height of the Victorian period, a craze for Gothic style swept England and spread far beyond. Gothic architecture, associated with the social and cultural ideals of the Middle Ages, was seen as a means of remaking the modern world. In this exposition, Chris Brooks unravels the layers of meaning that Gothic held for its many reinventors: from the political uses of Gothic history in the 17th century to Barry and Pugin's Houses of Parliament in the mid-19th century. Yet Gothic is not just buildings: continually recreated, it has taken the form of poetry and fiction, of painting and sculpture, of movies and video games, of Gothic music and Gothic punk. Gothic became a dominant cultural and architectural force not only in 19th-century Britain, but across Europe, in the United States and in the countries of the British Empire. It is still pervasive. This book deals comprehensively with the whole scope of the Gothic Revival.

Customer Reviews

NOT a 12 Year Old Reader
I found Chris Brook's book beautifully illustrated and quite informative. The Gothic Revival style is little understood and little appreciated. Personally, I don't believe anyone can truly understand Art Nouveau (and its successor, Art Deco)without an understanding of the organic forms first created by neo-Gothic architects. For anyone who wishes to better understand 19th and early 20th century architecture (and perhaps their own local parish church building), this is a very good introduction to the subject.

A lively and masterful summary
This is the first new survey of the Gothic Revival for more than seventy years. Even to have caught up with the huge amount of writing since then, both in architectural history and in cultural history, would have been a great achievement. Chris Brooks goes much further, however, in his gift for tracing connections and suggesting parallels between artistic change and its social context. He also shows how widely the Revival ranged, both in the English speaking world, and on Continental Europe. He shows that the Gothic Revival is truly one of the central themes of Western culture.

Two more points in its favour: it is beautifully illustrated, inventively designed, and exceptionally good value...

A Good Introduction/Review
This book is a bit dry, but it is a fantastic introduction to or review of the contraditory meanings of "Gothic Style" after the Middle Ages. The text does a good job of bringing out the complexity of the topic without being overwhelming; the full color images (and the book as a whole) are stunningly beautiful. This isn't the most fun you'll ever have reading an art book, but if you need to catch up on the info or want a gorgeous book with lots of great pictures, this is a good choice.