I first became familiar with this book in its first edition from 1976 in the early 80's. The architecture of Shaw has fascinated me for many years. His Country Houses at Cragside, Adcote and Dawpool are just three of his buildings I admired for their unique style, detail inside and out and for their layout. This book by Andrew Saint is not only a review of Shaw's architecture, but also a biography, a review of English Architecture and a history of the improvements and innovations in architecture from the installation of electric lighting to more efficient drainage of waste from houses. With its concise style, many illustration and most importantly for me numerous floor plans, I came close to buying the first edition of this book many times. Instead I borrowed it from libraries at least a dozen times. I must say I waiting for the new edition was an excellent move, because it ended up being a better, larger, reworked and more lavishly illustrated book.
When a second edition of a book is published after such a long time, in this case 33 years (1976 / 2009) often only minor changes are made, but in this case we are for all intents and purposes presented with a new book.
First of all the new edition is bigger by over a third, 11 1/2" x 9" x 2 1/4" versus 10" x 7 1/2" x 1 3/8". Bigger is better because the photographs, floor plans and other illustrations are larger. The first edition was lavishly illustrated with 291 illustrations of all types and all in black and white, the new edition has 349 and many in color. Also many of the photographs have more clarity and detail and many were rephotographed for this book. The old book jacket had a low contrast monochrome image of Cragside looking lost in the woods on the cover with the title and name of author in an ugly green font above it. The new edition has a beautiful sharp and clear color image of the facade of Adcote House on the cover which wraps around the spine to the back. The new book is one you can display. The Printing and binding, as well as the quality of the new edition is much better.
As for content, in order to write this review I borrowed the first edition edition from a University Library and made many comparisons while I read the book cover to cover. Undoubtedly the entire book has been revised. Some sections stayed the same, other were slightly updated and other were re-written. If your interest lies in the history of Architecture, 19th Century Architecture or the Architecture of Country Houses, this book is a must have. Shaw was hugely influential in his time and was considered by some the greatest English Architect since Sir Christopher Wren. His influence on 19th Century American Architecture can not be underestimated and manifests itself in the Queen Anne and Shingle Styles. This book also contains information on Shaw's commissions of city dwellings, churches and public buildings, as well as furniture and interior details. All the while it is also to a lesser degree a biography of a reserved man who lived in the shadow of his fame and who seemed at times amused, almost embarassed by it. I recommend this book very highly and suggest that the interested reader buy it before it goes out of print as was the case with the first edition. This book is a necessary addition to any Architectural Library.
Review by Walter O. Koenig
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Anthony.BT
... but her first impressions of the book have been good.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 9, 2015