A Short History of British Architecture

Provocative, elegant, intriguing - Jenkins is a bold, imaginative writer, brilliant at challenging old assumptions and encouraging you to look at British architecture in a new light – Rory StewartA brilliant read and the perfect Christmas gift for that certain impossible-to-buy-for person * iNews *He is at heart an architectural enthusiast…extremely knowledgeable and passionate * Critic *As Simon Jenkins shows in A Short History of British Architecture, there is no neat and coherent tale to be told of a national style evolving or of the passing of a torch down the eras * Literary Review *Jenkins’s book is full of interesting details and entertaining stories * Literary Review *Writing good popular history is a learned art, and Simon Jenkins has mastered it – Nicholas Boys Smith * Building Design *Jenkins’s punchy book serves as both an overview of the development of our built environment (and in too many instances its obliteration) and a plea for a more profound understanding of its importance * New Statesman *[Jenkins] is no dry, sticks-and-stones architectural theorist and his entries are always informed by a keen eye and an enthusiast’s interest in buildings as they are used, not as they appear in plan and elevation…clear and admirably concise…a brilliant, blistering polemic against the architectural depredations of the past century – Laura Freeman * The Times *[Jenkins] has a lot of strong opinions and, although it’s a short history, it’s a rich one – Will Gompertz * Elle *

Simon Jenkins is author of the bestselling A Short History of England, A Short History of Europe, Britain’s 100 Best Railway Stations, England’s Thousand Best Churches and England’s Thousand Best Houses. He is a former Editor of the Evening Standard and The Times, and columnist for the Guardian.