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This is a hefty coffee-tableish book, intelligently written and handsomely photographed. --Country Life
The Statues of London is to be lauded for bringing to life, in such a handsome manner, these stone and bronze characters --House and Garden
The Statues of London is to be lauded for bringing to life, in such a handsome manner, these stone and bronze characters --House and Garden
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London boasts more statues than any other city in the world, commemorating the achievements of a huge range of public figures. This elegant new survey presents over 80 of the best and most interesting statues in London s 32 boroughs, from Boudicca near the Houses of Parliament to Bobby Moore at Wembley Stadium. Stunning images by renowned photographer Dennis Gilbert capture perfectly the scale and intricacy of these works in bronze and stone, while Ronald Asprey s entertaining texts offer a compact biography of each noteworthy individual, along with a commentary on the statute itself and the artist who crafted it. Also featuring gazetteers of 100 additional notable statues and of multi-statue buildings around London, as well as a section devoted to remarkable individuals who have yet to be commemorated, this magnificently produced book provides fresh insight into some of the city s greatest monuments.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A good hefty volume, with some very decent pictures of London's myriad bronze and stone statues.
The text is simple and informative, although I have a minor quibble about the stunning Maggi Hambling monument to Oscar Wilde, just off the Strand. As the picture shows, the sickly-green genius is looming out at us, rising from his coffin. The text states that he is also smoking a cigarette - a lovely touch, given the artist's penchant for smoking just about everywhere, but the photograph makes it all too clear that the cigarette is missing: in fact, it has been absent for some time. It was nicked shortly after the statue's unveiling - then replaced, and then nicked again. Presumably, there are limits as to how many bronze casts of a fag-end are economically viable.
Anecdotal evidence like this surely adds to the interest of the statue - and if nothing else is a pertinent comment on our times.
However, this is an excellent book, well worth having.
Note: As of 2010, Hambling's Oscar Wilde is now all but hidden by a hot-dog stall which occupies an unsubtle and ill-considered pride of place right in front of it.
The text is simple and informative, although I have a minor quibble about the stunning Maggi Hambling monument to Oscar Wilde, just off the Strand. As the picture shows, the sickly-green genius is looming out at us, rising from his coffin. The text states that he is also smoking a cigarette - a lovely touch, given the artist's penchant for smoking just about everywhere, but the photograph makes it all too clear that the cigarette is missing: in fact, it has been absent for some time. It was nicked shortly after the statue's unveiling - then replaced, and then nicked again. Presumably, there are limits as to how many bronze casts of a fag-end are economically viable.
Anecdotal evidence like this surely adds to the interest of the statue - and if nothing else is a pertinent comment on our times.
However, this is an excellent book, well worth having.
Note: As of 2010, Hambling's Oscar Wilde is now all but hidden by a hot-dog stall which occupies an unsubtle and ill-considered pride of place right in front of it.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Us Londoners are notorious for bustling around, heads down, and not paying much attention to anyone or anything around us. It's when you read a book like this that you realise how much there is to see in our city - if we just took the time to stop and look. Most of the classic statues we have all passed a thousand times are in here, alongside a multitude of hidden gems and little known statues of even less known but fascinating individuals.
The photography is beautiful and the text erudite and enlightening - I feel my IQ has risen about 10 points since finishing the book - and I'm now always keeping an eye out for hidden statues from the top deck of the bus.
A must for any lifelong Londoners, and a reminder that we live in arguably the most amazing city in the world.
The photography is beautiful and the text erudite and enlightening - I feel my IQ has risen about 10 points since finishing the book - and I'm now always keeping an eye out for hidden statues from the top deck of the bus.
A must for any lifelong Londoners, and a reminder that we live in arguably the most amazing city in the world.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Hundreds of times I have passed London's statues, pondered their significance yet subsequently failed to follow up or as has more often been the case, I have simply failed to notice their existence. This book both satisfies my curiosity and ensures that I shall not be so unobservant in the future.
The book is also a giant Pandora's Box. Each page opens a doorway in to the life and times of a remarkable individual teasing you with a synopsis of their achievements and an insight in to the worlds they lived in. It leaves you yearning for more and wishing that you'd paid more attention in your history classes.
Several times I have found myself reverting to the Internet to learn more about the figures captured in bronze or stone and represented so concisely in this book's pages. That is the power of this book and having to revert to the Internet for the additional information is certainly not a criticism. The book delivers exactly what it sets out to do, an explanation of London's most important statues and a summary of the lives behind them. It would be impossible to include more on each individual without creating a multi-volumed encyclopaedia and indeed the weight of such a tome would detract from the fun of being able to dip in to and out of this book to snatch an enlightened 5-10 minutes whenever the time permits.
I can't imagine the hours that must have gone in to researching the historical figures. While concise, each synopsis is far from being light on facts. They capture not only the highlights of each subject's life, but also a number of fascinating and amusing anecdotes, the type of which have long since slipped from the pages of the A'Level Curriculum and landed on the floor of the dedicated historical nerd. That this book has recovered so many of these lesser known facts is testimony to the depth of the research undertaken. That so many facts have been recorded so colourfully in each short synopsis is testimony to the writing.
This book is a treasure trove of fascinating historical facts focused on the statues that represent them. Whether you've ever been enchanted by or in awe of the craftsmanship that immortalises these figures or you are a casual or dedicated historian, this is a reference book of clarity, insight and inspiration, superbly written and enlivened with stunning photography. Suddenly the street corners, buildings and parks of London, up until this publication, home to statues cold, stiff, irrelevant and unnoticed are now filled with numerous mesmerising reminders of the past.
The book is also a giant Pandora's Box. Each page opens a doorway in to the life and times of a remarkable individual teasing you with a synopsis of their achievements and an insight in to the worlds they lived in. It leaves you yearning for more and wishing that you'd paid more attention in your history classes.
Several times I have found myself reverting to the Internet to learn more about the figures captured in bronze or stone and represented so concisely in this book's pages. That is the power of this book and having to revert to the Internet for the additional information is certainly not a criticism. The book delivers exactly what it sets out to do, an explanation of London's most important statues and a summary of the lives behind them. It would be impossible to include more on each individual without creating a multi-volumed encyclopaedia and indeed the weight of such a tome would detract from the fun of being able to dip in to and out of this book to snatch an enlightened 5-10 minutes whenever the time permits.
I can't imagine the hours that must have gone in to researching the historical figures. While concise, each synopsis is far from being light on facts. They capture not only the highlights of each subject's life, but also a number of fascinating and amusing anecdotes, the type of which have long since slipped from the pages of the A'Level Curriculum and landed on the floor of the dedicated historical nerd. That this book has recovered so many of these lesser known facts is testimony to the depth of the research undertaken. That so many facts have been recorded so colourfully in each short synopsis is testimony to the writing.
This book is a treasure trove of fascinating historical facts focused on the statues that represent them. Whether you've ever been enchanted by or in awe of the craftsmanship that immortalises these figures or you are a casual or dedicated historian, this is a reference book of clarity, insight and inspiration, superbly written and enlivened with stunning photography. Suddenly the street corners, buildings and parks of London, up until this publication, home to statues cold, stiff, irrelevant and unnoticed are now filled with numerous mesmerising reminders of the past.
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