From the Temple to the Castle An Architectural History of British Literature, 1660-1760 by Lee Morrissey

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From the Temple to the Castle
An Architectural History of British Literature, 1660-1760

by Lee Morrissey

208 pages, 21 b&w illus., 6 x 9 cloth

ISBN 0-8139-1899-5 • $39.50

"...there has never been a book about the rich architectural heritage of eighteenth-century English literature by someone fully conversant with architectural practice and technical writing."
--Paul J. Korshin, University of Pennsylvania

Visiting Britain in the mid-eighteenth century, André Rouquet wrote that "in England more than in any other country, every man would fain be his own architect." Not surprisingly, then, several of the most important eighteenth-century British authors were also practicing architects: John Vanbrugh, a playwright, designed Blenheim Palace; the poet Alexander Pope offered architectural drawings for redesigning the houses of friends; and Horace Walpole claimed that the home he renovated, Strawberry Hill, inspired his novel The Castle of Otranto. The work of John Milton and Thomas Gray also exhibits an abiding interest in architecture. By examining the connections between literature and architecture in the work of these writers and by viewing architecture in literary terms, Lee Morrissey traces a narrative of cultural change in the Augustan Age and beyond.

A literary scholar with a strong background in architectural theory and practice, Morrissey examines architectural references made by these authors and architectural publications familiar to them. Each chapter establishes a connection with architecture in the careers of an author, then describes how a principal text&emdash;-Paradise Lost, The Provok'd Wife, Essay on Man, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, and The Castle of Otranto--focuses the literary and historical issues of the period in architectural terms.

While some twentieth-century architectural theorists have worried that treating architecture in literary terms robs it of its social function, Morrissey argues that architecture can be a language and still participate in political and social contexts, because language itself is political and social. The fruit of his argument is a unique intellectual history of late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Britain that will engage scholars of architectural history and landscape architecture as well as of literature.

Reviews

"Writers have made architectural allusions since classical times, but there has never been a book about the rich architectural heritage of eighteenth-century English literature by someone fully conversant with architectural practice and technical writing. Lee Morrissey's interpretations of literary works are strikingly different and original."

--Paul J. Korshin, University of Pennsylvania

"Lee Morrissey's compelling reflection on the interaction between architecture and literature in eighteenth-century Britain is a pleasure: an erudite circumambulation from Stonehenge to Strawberry Hill which delights as much as it instructs. In contemplating the palpable links between architecture and literary form, Morrissey at once lays to rest certain time-worn cliches and refreshes our vision of a host of eighteenth-century structures, real and imaginary."

--Terry Castle, Stanford University

The Author

Lee Morrissey is Assistant Professor of English in the College of Architecture, Arts, and Humanities at Clemson University.

Related Links

From the Temple to the Castle
An Architectural History of British Literature, 1660-1760
by Lee Morrissey
208 pages, 21 b&w illus., 6 x 9 cloth
ISBN 0-8139-1899-5 • $39.50

http://www.upress.virginia.edu/morrissey.html

Revised 8/2/05

Reviews Author Related Links To Order		From the Temple to the Castle An Architectural History of British Literature, 1660-1760
		by Lee Morrissey
		208 pages, 21 b&w illus., 6 x 9 cloth
		ISBN 0-8139-1899-5 • $39.50
		"...there has never been a book about the rich architectural heritage of eighteenth-century English literature by someone fully conversant with architectural practice and technical writing." --Paul J. Korshin, University of Pennsylvania Visiting Britain in the mid-eighteenth century, André Rouquet wrote that "in England more than in any other country, every man would fain be his own architect." Not surprisingly, then, several of the most important eighteenth-century British authors were also practicing architects: John Vanbrugh, a playwright, designed Blenheim Palace; the poet Alexander Pope offered architectural drawings for redesigning the houses of friends; and Horace Walpole claimed that the home he renovated, Strawberry Hill, inspired his novel The Castle of Otranto. The work of John Milton and Thomas Gray also exhibits an abiding interest in architecture. By examining the connections between literature and architecture in the work of these writers and by viewing architecture in literary terms, Lee Morrissey traces a narrative of cultural change in the Augustan Age and beyond. A literary scholar with a strong background in architectural theory and practice, Morrissey examines architectural references made by these authors and architectural publications familiar to them. Each chapter establishes a connection with architecture in the careers of an author, then describes how a principal text&emdash;-Paradise Lost, The Provok'd Wife, Essay on Man, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, and The Castle of Otranto--focuses the literary and historical issues of the period in architectural terms. While some twentieth-century architectural theorists have worried that treating architecture in literary terms robs it of its social function, Morrissey argues that architecture can be a language and still participate in political and social contexts, because language itself is political and social. The fruit of his argument is a unique intellectual history of late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Britain that will engage scholars of architectural history and landscape architecture as well as of literature.

		Reviews
		"Writers have made architectural allusions since classical times, but there has never been a book about the rich architectural heritage of eighteenth-century English literature by someone fully conversant with architectural practice and technical writing. Lee Morrissey's interpretations of literary works are strikingly different and original." --Paul J. Korshin, University of Pennsylvania "Lee Morrissey's compelling reflection on the interaction between architecture and literature in eighteenth-century Britain is a pleasure: an erudite circumambulation from Stonehenge to Strawberry Hill which delights as much as it instructs. In contemplating the palpable links between architecture and literary form, Morrissey at once lays to rest certain time-worn cliches and refreshes our vision of a host of eighteenth-century structures, real and imaginary." --Terry Castle, Stanford University
		The Author
		Lee Morrissey is Assistant Professor of English in the College of Architecture, Arts, and Humanities at Clemson University. Related Links


		From the Temple to the Castle An Architectural History of British Literature, 1660-1760 by Lee Morrissey 208 pages, 21 b&w illus., 6 x 9 cloth ISBN 0-8139-1899-5 • $39.50
		http://www.upress.virginia.edu/morrissey.html
		Revised 8/2/05