William Burges: And the High Victorian Dream
'Crook has improved on the original with a little extra signposting for readers.' RIBA Journal 'Joe Crook's exuberant and coruscating writing is ideally suited to describing Burges's eclectic aestheticism. Every page produces a firework: shutters are 'alive with quirkish patterns', furniture sparkles with 'domelets of mirrored glass', entering a room is 'like stepping into an upturned kaleidoscope'. The glitter is underpinned by massive scholarship (192 columns of footnotes). With its glorious illustrations, this is a very beautiful book and a compelling read. The first edition was good. This is better.' -- John Martin Robinson Spectator 'A much enlarged and beautified format, all the better to do justice to its subject.' World of Interiors 'This lovely book should now find exactly what it deserves, a whole new readership primed to enjoy Crook's insights into his subject's "strange genius", and indeed into its wider Victorian context . ' Victorianweb.org 'A readable and detailed account of its subject, and the additional illustrations and updated information make its re-publication welcome.' Art Newspaper