Editorial Review

"If you seek his monument, look around," commands Adrian Tinniswood in his scholarly but elegantly entertaining biography of Christopher Wren (1632-1723). "As an architect, he changed the face of England and the course of architectural history." Tinniswood describes with appreciation and discernment Wren's greatest buildings: "the bubble of unexampled lightness that is St. Stephen Walbrook" church, the additions to Hampton Court, and of course London's majestic St. Paul's Cathedral, a symbol of British faith and courage throughout the centuries. These structures were political as well as architectural achievements, and Tinniswood nicely captures the discretion, ruthlessness, and carefully cultivated connections that enabled Wren to survive the Civil War, get himself named Royal Surveyor, hang on to the job under five monarchs, and get designs approved and money wheedled out of a reluctant parliament. Tinniswood pays equally intelligent attention to Wren's early career as an esteemed Oxford astronomy professor and charter member of the Royal Society (and its president from 1681-3). He writes wittily about the quirks of Wren and such peers as Newton and Bernini, capturing the intensely personal nature of 17th-century public culture, and he (sparingly) offers his opinions in a way that enhances our understanding of the period. "I want my heroes to be people, not ideas," Tinniswood writes, after describing a squabble at the Royal Society. This sparkling biography reveals Wren as a human being without detracting from the heroic nature of his accomplishments. Read more

Reviews (3)

By his deeds shall a man be known
Sir Christopher Wren has earned his reputation as a man of great learning and marvelous architectural works. He is therefore entitled to another book devoted to his lifework and HIS INVENTION SO FERTILE is just that. Adrian Tinniswood's "A Life of Christopher Wren" offers a well researched and finely detailed picture of the architectural legacy of Wren and his equally impressive, but lesser known work as an inventor, astronomer, and scientist. As a straight biography of the man - his thoughts and ideas and his family life - the book is a little sketchy. Unlike his friend John Evelyn and Samuel Pepys, Wren was no diarist. He in fact had very little to say about himself, his family, or the times in which he lived. When a biographer says that this is "a man you would give a great deal to know" you get a clear sense of the frustration Tinniswood faced in unearthing biographical details on Wren. An Architect, and More
In London, within St. Paul's Cathedral, one can find possibly the most famous epitaph in the world.In Latin, it says, "Reader, if you seek his monument, look around you."Within the crypt is the architect of St. Paul's, and what a monument he has, and how fitting.But it is not hard, even oceans away from England, to look around and find something that Wren affected.One of the great lessons of the fascinating _His Invention So Fertile: A Life of Christopher Wren_ (Oxford University Press) by Adrian Tinniswood is that Wren is not St. Paul's, although the cathedral may be regarded as the centerpiece of his life.He was not even merely an architect.Wren's astonishingly comprehensive genius reached into many fields, and he was an advocate to encourage the way we do science in the modern world. Extremely readable account of England's most famous architec
Tinniswood's new book is the first of a string of new biographies of Wren due out over the next few years. Tinniswood is a writer first and a historian second and he was succeeded in producing a book that is undoubtedly highly readable. The tone is as a colleague described, positively conspiratorial and the reader is seduced into turning each of the 463 pages to find out what happens next. This is thoroughly admirable and there is no doubt that Tinniswood has succeeded in his aim of producing the most readable account of Wren's life to date. He is also extremely good at setting the scene, quoting from awide range ofsources from the period, rumour as well as fact. In view of all this it thus seems almost carping to comment on the scholarship but as people will inevitably use such a good book as a source for Wren I think it is justified.Tinniswood himself says in the foreword that he relies heavily on the Wren Society,yet this is now out of date. His facts are unreliable and students should beware. Moreover the truth is often sacrificed at the altar of readability so that in those places where there is considerable doubt, such as Christopher's son's mental handicap, the arguments for and against are not mentioned, one side being presented as gospel. All this said if asked to recommend a single volume introduction to Wren, I would cite this one. There are few writers that have managed to capture the excitement of Wren and none are likely to be as accessible to the modern reader. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1632-1723    2. 17th-18th Century Architecture    3. Architects    4. Artists, Architects, Photographers    5. Biography    6. Biography & Autobiography    7. Biography / Autobiography    8. Biography/Autobiography    9. England    10. History - General    11. Individual Architect    12. Sir,    13. Wren, Christopher,    14. Biography & Autobiography / Artists, Architects, Photographers    15. History, World | British | 17th C   

Features

• Illustrated

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. General    3. Religious Buildings    4. Specific Religious Buildings Architecture    5. History of specific subjects    6. LONDON (ENGLAND)_CHURCHES    7. London, Greater London    8. Travel / Europe / Great Britain    9. WREN, CHRISTOPHER, SIR, 1632-1723   

Subjects:  1. Academic And Research Libraries    2. Academic libraries    3. Architecture    4. Cambridge    5. England    6. General    7. History    8. International Architecture - European    9. Library    10. Library & Information Science    11. Library Architecture    12. Library buildings    13. Reference    14. Trinity College (University of    15. Trinity College (University of Cambridge).    16. Architecture / General    17. Public buildings: civic, commercial, industrial, etc    18. Trinity College (University of Cambridge).--Library--History    19. Wren, Christopher   

Reviews (1)

The Place to Start with Wren
If you're interested in learning about the work of Christopher Wren, England's most famous architect, Margaret Whinney's classic book is a must.Wren was, of course, a prodigious talent--an intellectual prodigy who started his career as an astronomer and scientist before becoming increasingly interested in architecture in his early 30s.Wren's first commission was the beautiful Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford, and only a few years later he was asked to propose a new design for London's St. Paul's Cathedral.Days later, the majority of the city burned to the ground in London's Great Fire, and Wren was given the responsibility not only of rebuilding St. Paul's but of all London's other churches.Finishing St. Paul's was to take the rest of Wren's long lifetime, but he was still able to complete the many important secular commissions that flowed his way, including the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, the Chelsea Hospital (a home for retired soldiers), and improvements on new construction on an assortment of palaces.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1632-1723    2. Architecture    3. Criticism and interpretation    4. History - Specific Styles    5. Individual Architect    6. Public, Commercial, or Industrial Buildings    7. Sir,    8. Wren, Christopher,    9. United Kingdom, Great Britain    10. Wren, Christopher    11. c 1600 to c 1700    12. c 1700 to c 1800   

Subjects:  1. Christianity - Anglicanism    2. Church History    3. Church architecture    4. Conservation and restoration    5. England    6. History    7. History: World    8. London (England)    9. Religion - Denominations - Religions    10. St. Mary, the Virgin, Alderman    11. St. Mary, the Virgin, Aldermanbury (Church : London, England)    12. Westminster College (Fulton, M    13. Winston Churchill Memorial and    14. Winston Churchill Memorial and Library    15. British & Irish history    16. Christianity    17. Local history    18. Religious buildings    19. Social history    20. United Kingdom, Great Britain    21. Wren, Christopher   

Reviews (1)

Wren's 'Tracts' - a wonderful compendium of Primary Sources
In this work Prof. Soo has collected the surviving writings of Wren on architecture. These, for the serious student, are invaluable, and here they are collected together in one volume for the first time, at least in moderntimes.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1632-1723    2. 17th century    3. 17th-18th Century Architecture    4. 18th century    5. Architecture    6. Criticism    7. Criticism and interpretation    8. England    9. History - General    10. Individual Architect    11. Sir,    12. Wren, Christopher,    13. Architecture / General    14. Theory of architecture    15. Wren, Christopher    16. Wren, Christopher,--Sir,--1632-1723--Criticism and interpretation   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. England    3. Grande-Bretagne   

Subjects:  1. 1632-1723    2. Architects    3. Artists, Architects, Photographers    4. Biography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. England    8. Historical - British    9. Sir,    10. Wren, Christopher,    11. Biography & Autobiography / General    12. Biography: general    13. Individual architects    14. Wren, Christopher   

Reviews (1)

Detailed, plodding tome-only for the serious researcher.
The book is really geared towards someone who knows about Christopher Wren and wishes to go into a great deal of detail about his efforts. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1632-1723    2. Biography    3. Great Britain    4. History Of Architecture    5. History Of Science    6. Knowledge    7. Science    8. Scientists    9. Sir,    10. Wren, Christopher,    11. Science / History    12. Wren, Christopher   

Subjects:  1. 1632-1723    2. 17th-18th Century Architecture    3. Church architecture    4. Classicism in architecture    5. England    6. General    7. London    8. Photo Essays    9. Religious Buildings    10. Sir,    11. Themes, motives    12. Travel - Foreign    13. Wren, Christopher,    14. Wren, Christopher   

Subjects:  1. Biography: general    2. Individual architects    3. c 1600 to c 1700    4. c 1700 to c 1800   

Subjects:  1. 1632-1723    2. Architectural drawing    3. Architecture    4. Catalogs    5. England    6. London    7. Religious Buildings    8. Religious Buildings Architecture    9. Sir,    10. St. Paul's Cathedral (London,    11. St. Paul's Cathedral (London, England)    12. Wren, Christopher,    13. Wren, Christopher   

Subjects:  1. Renaissance Architecture    2. Architecture    3. Renaissance art   

Subjects:  1. 1632-1723    2. 17th-18th Century Architecture    3. Anglican church buildings    4. Architecture    5. Classicism in architecture    6. Congresses    7. Criticism and interpretation    8. England    9. History - General    10. Individual Architect    11. Public, Commercial, or Industrial Buildings    12. Religious Buildings Architecture    13. Sir,    14. Wren, Christopher,    15. Biography: general    16. Individual architects    17. Wren, Christopher   

Subjects:  1. 1632-1723    2. Architects    3. Architecture, English    4. Biography    5. England    6. Modern Architecture    7. Sir,    8. Wren, Christopher,    9. Wren, Christopher   

Subjects:  1. 17th century    2. Architecture (Specific Aspects)    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Arts, English    5. England    6. General    7. Greenwich    8. Reference    9. Space (Art)    10. Special Subjects In Art    11. Sublime, The, in art    12. Criticism and interpretation    13. Influence    14. Literary studies: 16th to 18th centuries    15. Newton, Isaac    16. Principia    17. Theory of architecture    18. Theory of art    19. Thomson, James    20. Thornhill, James    21. Wren, Christopher   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Wren, Christopher   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. History    3. Designed / suitable for National Curriculum    4. Education / Teaching Methods & Materials / Arts & Humanities    5. World history    6. c 1000 CE to c 1500    7. c 500 CE to c 1000 CE   

Subjects:  1. 1632-1723    2. Architecture    3. Church architecture    4. Criticism and interpretation    5. England    6. Europe - Great Britain - General    7. Individual Architect    8. International Architecture - British    9. London    10. Public, Commercial, or Industrial Buildings    11. Religious Buildings    12. Sir,    13. Specific Religious Buildings Architecture    14. St. Paul's Cathedral (London,    15. St. Paul's Cathedral (London, England)    16. Wren, Christopher,    17. Architecture / Public, Commercial, or Industrial Buildings    18. Wren, Christopher    19. c 1600 to c 1700    20. c 1700 to c 1800