His Invention So Fertile

Adrian Tinniswood

$65

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Pimlico
01 July 2002

Individual architects & architectural firms; Biography: historical, political & military

'This lively, sympathetic and hugely informative biography brings us closer to Wren than ever before'

Frances Spalding, Independent

Christopher Wren (1632-1723) was the greatest architect Britain has ever known.

But he was more than that.

A founder of the Royal Society, he mapped the moon and the stars, investigated the problem of longitude and the rings of Saturn, and carried out groundbreaking experiments into the circulation of the blood.

His observations on comets, meteorology and muscular action made vital contributions to the developing ideas of Newton, Halley and Boyle.

His Invention So Fertile presents the first complete picture of this towering genius- the Surveyor-General of the King's Works, running the nation's biggest architectural office and wrestling with corruption and interference; the pioneering anatomist; the mathematician, devising new navigational instruments and lecturing on planetary motion.

It also shows us the man behind the legend.

Wren was married and widowed twice, he fathered a mentally handicapped child, quarrelled with his colleagues and fell foul of his employers.

He scrambled over building sites and went to the theatre and drank in coffee-houses. The book explores what it was like to be at Oxford during the Commonwealth, as a generation struggled to make sense of a society in chaos; it recreates the tensions which tore apart the court of James II; it brings to life the petty jealousies that formed an integral part of both the building world and scientific milieu of the Royal Society.

Above all, His Invention So Fertile makes clear to the general reader and the art historian just why Wren remains a cultural icon - both a creation and a creator of the world he lived in.

By: Adrian Tinniswood
Imprint: Pimlico
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 154mm, Spine: 35mm
Weight: 688g
ISBN: 9780712673648
ISBN 10: 0712673644
Pages: 512
Publication Date: 01 July 2002
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Adrian Tinniswood is professorial research fellow in history at the University of Buckingham, adjunct professor of history at Maynooth University and the author of many books on British history, including the Sunday Times bestseller The Long Weekend. He was awarded an OBE for services to heritage, and lives in the west of Ireland.

Reviews for His Invention So Fertile

A superb biography of Christopher Wren who was not only perhaps the greatest ever British architect but also a polymath who throughout his long life undertook important astronomical, mathematical and anatomical work that made a vital contribution to the ideas of Newton, Halley and Boyle. Tinniswood shows us the man behind the legend and paints a colourful portrait of a fascinating period of English history.