Drawing together landscape; architecture and literature; Strawberry Hill; the celebrated eighteenth-century ‘Gothic’ villa and garden beside the River Thames; is an autobiographical site; where we can read the story of its creator; Horace Walpole. This man of taste created private resonances; pleasure and entertainment - a collusion of the historic; the visual and the sensory. Above all; it expresses the inseparable integration of house and setting; and of the architecture with the collection; all specific to one individual; a unity that is relevant today to all architects; landscape designers and garden and country house enthusiasts. Avoiding the straightforward architectural description of previous texts; this beautifully illustrated book reveals the Gothic villa and associated landscape to be inspired by theories that stimulate The Pleasures of the Imagination articulated in the series of essays by Joseph Addison (1672-1719) published in the Spectator (1712). Linked to this argument; it proposes that the concepts behind the designs for Strawberry Hill are not based around architectural precedent but around eighteenth-century aesthetics theories; antiquarianism and matters of Taste.Using architectural quotations from Gothic tombs; Walpole expresses the mythical idea that it was based on monastic foundations with visual links to significant historical figures and events in English history. The book explains for the first time the reasons for its creation; which have never been adequately explored or fully understood in previous publications.The book develops an argument that Walpole was the first to define theories on Gothic architecture in his Anecdotes of Painting (1762-71). Similarly innovative; The History of the Modern Taste in Gardening (1780) is one of the first to attempt a history and theory of gardening. The research uniquely evaluates how these theories found expression at Strawberry Hill. This reassessment of the villa and its associated landscape reveals that the ensemble is not so much a part of the conventionally-conceived linear progression of eighteenth-century architectural style but; rather; is an original essay in contemporary aesthetics.
#1551399 in eBooks 2013-10-07 2013-10-07File Name: B00H12DSWM
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Waste of a Good TreeBy Danny A. NelmsAwful. I was born have lived in Mississippi my whole life. That being said; this is the worst collection of stories I have ever read. Painful to get through. Not one story was the least bit entertaining or even comical. I cant imagine how it ever made it to print. None of the stories even had a point! Most of them were just random people telling about random things they had done. No history; nothing unusual or special. There are hundreds of interesting stories that make my home state great. None of those are in this book. Im ashamed the "Mississippi" is on the cover.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Some good stories here but---By Margie ReadThis is an interesting book; but it needed some good editing before being published. There are some good stories but they have no climax; no crispness; no warmth of finish. Some of them just quit with a thud. It also appears that more than one person was involved in the gathering and printing of these stories. This could have been a really good book. Maybe someone will reissue it.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Mary A. GodsoGreat read
