Artisans and Architects

The tradition of thought stemming from John Ruskin and William Morris was important in its own day and has continued to exert a powerful influence on architectural thought in the twentieth century and even today it is still widely regarded as the authentic "socialist" tradition. The real nature of Ruskinian architectural thought is the questioned in this full-scale study of the subject. Organized as a series of studies of the major figures involved - John Ruskin, Philip Webb, William Morris, W.R.Lethaby, Raymond Unwin and A.J.Plenty - the book explores the roots of this school of thought in German Romanticism (and particularly in idealist philosophy), unravels its uneasy relationship with Marxism and the socialist movement, traces its continuing role in twentieth century architecture, and concludes with a critique of its value and validity for the 1990s. Based on unpublished archival sources, this book is a major reinterpretation of a central strand in Western architectural thought. Mark Swenarton is the author of "Homes fit for Heroes" and a regular writer on contemporary issues in architecture, particularly for the weekly "Building Design".