John Soane : an accidental romantic /

Sir John Soane (1753-1837) is not an unknown architect; there have been numerous well-illustrated studies, particularly in the past 40 years, by such scholars as John Summerson, Dorothy Stroud, Henry-Russell Hitchcock, and Pierre du Prey. Soane is currently the subject of a major exhibition at the Royal Academy, London (John Soane, Architect: Master of Space and Light, ed. by Margaret Richardson and MaryAnne Stevens, 1999). Best known for his very original, neoclassical, light-filled buildings in London, including the Bank of England (much of which has been destroyed), the Art Gallery at Dulwich College (not only the first purpose-built art gallery in England but still considered a model for art galleries worldwide), and for his idiosyncratic house-museum. Darley, known for her excellent Villages of Vision (CH, Jan'77), a study of ideal English communities, now offers the first complete biography of the architect, including a discussion of his many character defects and horrible relations with his children and other relatives, ignored or suppressed by earlier writers. She frankly admits that it is a biography, not an architectural monograph. However, it is a complete study of his life. Darley also contributed to the Royal Academy catalog essays on Soane's early life and travels. General readers; upper-division undergraduate and graduate students. T. J. McCormick; Wheaton College (MA)