Building Greater Britain: Architecture, Imperialism, and the Edwardian Baroque Revival, 1885 - 1920

The Edwardian Baroque movement in British architecture was a response to the growing anxiety over Britain's place in the world, its perceived geopolitical decline, and its need to bolster confidence in the face of the Great Power rivalries of the period. This innovative study reappraises the movement in its wider cultural, political, and imperial contexts, combining architectural, political, and imperial history and theory to provide a more nuanced and intellectually wide-ranging understanding of the movement from a material culture perspective.

Format: Hardback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 22 November 2022
Publisher: Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

This innovative study reevaluates the Edwardian Baroque movement in British architecture, contextualizing it within its broader cultural, political, and imperial frameworks. The Edwardian Baroque marked a significant attempt by British architects to attain an imperial style, aiming to articulate British global power and prestige. It adorned civic and commercial buildings across Britain and its empire, particularly in the white settler Dominions of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa.

The book by renowned historian G. A. Bremner, published by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, represents a groundbreaking exploration of this captivating architectural movement in Britain and its empire. It delves into the significance of the Edwardian Baroque as a response to the growing apprehension about Britain's position in the world, its perceived geopolitical decline, and the need to bolster confidence amidst the era's Great Power rivalries.

This cross-disciplinary study combines architectural, political, and imperial history and theory, offering a more nuanced and intellectually expansive understanding of the Edwardian Baroque movement from a material culture perspective. It explores the movement's foundations in notions of race and gender, shedding light on its complex and multifaceted nature.

By reexamining the Edwardian Baroque within its broader cultural, political, and imperial contexts, this study provides a fresh perspective on an architectural style that played a significant role in shaping Britain's identity and influence in the early 20th century.

Weight: 2048g
Dimension: 258 x 299 x 33 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781913107314