Shorter Notices
Georgian London. By John Summerson. (Pleiades Books. 21s.) THE e ghteenth century is the glorious century for our city archi- tecture, and there is no better authority on the subject than Mr. John Summerson, who combines both learning and good judgement. This comprehensive and tastefully produced book is a documented history of Georgian London, and it is much more than a lively description of London's eighteenth-century architecture, for the author explains exactly how this architecture came about ; who was responsible, not only. directly as architects and builders but as land- owners and speculators ; what was the social background ; and, finally, what brought a hundred years of enlightened large-scale town-planning to an end, leaving London and our cities generally a chaos of unplanned, tasteless and ill-designed jerry-building. It is profusely illustrated with figures, mostly drawn by Mrs. Alison Shepherd, A.R.I.B.A., and with half-tone plates, and an appendix contains a useful if not exhaustive list of Georgian buildings in the City and County of London.
Previous page
