by Peter Thorold ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2000
Like its subject, rarely stylish or flashy—but always sturdy and reliable. (8 pp. color illustrations, 99 b&w...
A lushly illustrated history of the wealthy and their dwellings since the Great Fire.
Amateur historian (and ex-insurance broker) Thorold employs skills from both his avocation and his profession to produce a chronicle of the rich and their sumptuous retreats. He begins with a brief account of London before the Great Fire; thereafter—without any account of the fire itself—he adheres to strict chronology. The movement of the rich into various areas of the city was often a form of flight from “the irresistible onrush of the poor,” the author describes—sometimes thoroughly, sometimes not—the genesis and development of the posh squares in the city: St. James, Hanover, Grosvenor, Berkeley, Portman, and others. He also illustrates (with excellent maps) London’s accelerating sprawl. Often, Thorold provides engaging details about the construction (and fate) of individual properties—e.g., Eastbury House, which remains “one of the evocative memorials to the old rich in London,” and Holland House, whose ruins are “perhaps the prettiest in London.” Occasionally, he provides illuminating portraits of some of the owners and builders—e.g., John Nash, whom the Prince Regent employed in the early 1820s to redesign Buckingham House (now Palace). The author quotes often and effectively from myriad Londoners and visitors (the latter, he notes, most frequently commented in the 19th century on the city’s “immensity, its materialism, and the extremes of riches and poverty”). And, as he most appropriately observes, “the servants . . . made these houses possible.” When the going tends toward tedious, Thorold inserts the most effective antidote: anecdote. In 1661, for example, one Londoner commented that the fog and smoke in the city were so dense and pervasive that from his pew in church he could not see the minister. It is surprising, also, to learn how short-lived many of these grand houses were: Kensington House, for example, built at great expense, was never occupied and was pulled down six years after its construction.
Like its subject, rarely stylish or flashy—but always sturdy and reliable. (8 pp. color illustrations, 99 b&w illustrations)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-312-26616-2
Page Count: 416
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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