A jewel of the University of Oxford, the Sheldonian Theatre stands out among the groundbreaking designs by the great British architect Sir Christopher Wren. Published to coincide with the 350th anniversary of the building’s construction, this meticulously researched book takes a fresh look at the historical influences that shaped the Sheldonian’s development, including the Restoration of the English monarchy and the university’s commitment to episcopal religion. The book explains just how novel Wren’s design was in its day, in part because the academic theater was a building type without precedent in England, and in part because the Sheldonian’s classical style stood apart in its university context. The author also points to a shift in the guiding motivation behind the architecture at Oxford: from a tradition that largely perpetuated medieval forms to one that conceived classical architecture in relation to late Renaissance learning. Newly commissioned photographs showcase the theater’s recently restored interior.

The Sheldonian Theatre: Architecture and Learning in Seventeenth-Century Oxford

Arts & Photography

Geraghty, Anthony

History & Criticism

Paul Mellon Centre

This book describes one of the great sources of British architectural history: the collection of nearly five hundred drawings from the office of Sir Christopher Wren, today housed at All Souls College, Oxford. The collection reveals how Wren went about designing one of the largest buildings in Christendom - St Paul's Cathedral; how he rebuilt fifty parish churches after the Great Fire of London; and how he furnished England with some of its best-loved public buildings, including Hampton Court Palace, the Royal Naval Hospital at Greenwich, and the Library at Trinity College, Cambridge. This is the first catalogue of the All Souls drawings in sixty years, and the first to reproduce the whole of the collection in colour. It will be an indispensable work of reference for students of British architectural history.

The Architectural Drawings of Sir Christopher Wren at All Souls College, Oxford: A Complete Catalogue

Lund Humphries

An exploration of the little-known assemblage of art and architecture that Empress Eugénie created in Farnborough in the 1880s. This absorbing book tells the story of Empress Eugénie (1826-1920), the wife of Napoleon III and the last empress-consort of France. The Empress bought the Farnborough Hill estate in 1880, following a decade of personal tragedy: the collapse of the Second Empire (1852-70), the death of Napoleon III, and the loss of her only child. The death of the Prince Imperial in 1879, aged twenty-three, ended all hope of a Bonapartist restoration. With the imperial succession removed to another branch of the family, Eugénie resolved to create a permanent monument to her husband and son.&nbsp; In this book, Anthony Geraghty analyzes the principal buildings on the imperial estate and provides the first detailed account of the lost interiors of Farnborough Hill. He traces the origins of the collection back to the Second French Empire, and--drawing upon historic photos, inventories, and sale catalogs--he shows how the collection was displayed in the principal rooms of the house. Finally, the book describes the breakup of the estate in 1927, when the house was sold to a convent school and the collection was dispersed at auction. Today, only the Mausoleum functions as Eugénie originally envisaged. Geraghty, however, recovers the totality of Eugenie's vision for Farnborough. In so doing, he describes how the Napoleonic ideal, for one final time, was made visible through art, architecture, and collecting.

The Empress Eugénie in England: Art, Architecture, Collecting

Paul Holberton Publishing

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Books by Geraghty, Anthony

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Geraghty, Anthony. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Sheldonian Theatre: Architecture and Learning in Seventeenth-Century Oxford

The Architectural Drawings of Sir Christopher Wren at All Souls College, Oxford: A Complete Catalogue

The Empress Eugénie in England: Art, Architecture, Collecting