Sir John Vanbrugh : Storyteller in Stone

This engaging and beautifully illustrated book looks at the remarkable life and work of Sir John Vanbrugh (16641726)by turns businessman, soldier, playwright, and (despite lacking either training or qualifications) the architect of some of the most important country houses of his era. Architectural historian Vaughan Hart examines Vanbrugh's surviving, destroyed, and unrealized buildingsamong them Castle Howard and Blenheim Palaceoutlining the contemporary political and social events that influenced their design and showing how these strikingly original buildings can be interpreted through reference to classical mythology, Renaissance fortifications, and medieval houses.

Vaughan Hart is Professor of the History of Architecture at the University of Bath.