[MR] Book review: Elizabethan Architecture

[Garth G. Groff]

Noble friends,

Just received for the UVA Fine Arts Library: ELIZABETHAN ARCHITECTURE: 
ITS RISE AND FALL, 1540-1640 by Mark Girouard (ISBN 9780300093865; LC 
Call # NA965 .G57 2009). While few of us can afford to build an 
Elizabethan palace, or even a humble half-timbered cottage, this book 
still provides wonderful background material for understanding 16th 
century architecture in England. The 500+ page work is packed with color 
photographs and contemporary engravings showing both general views and 
fantastic details of these wonderful structures. All manor (yes, pun 
intended) of buildings are shown here, from cottages to market halls to 
churches, and of course palaces and great houses. Even those elaborate 
formal gardens the English love so much come in for some scrutiny. There 
are also some good costume details included, especially on effigies from 
various churches. This is a book we can all savor and learn from, even 
those not particularly interested in architecture.

Kind regards,


Mungo Napier, Unofficial Librarian for the Shire of Isenfir
(mka Garth Groff, UVA Library cataloger)