Finding Ella Briggs

The Life and Work of an Unconventional Architect

Despina Stratigakos, Elana Shapira, Barbara Penner , Christine Oertel

$69.99

Hardback

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

Princeton University Press
14 October 2025

Decorative arts; Individual artists, art monographs; History of architecture; Biography: arts & entertainment

The first biography of an extraordinary woman and architect who left her mark on world capitals and reshaped modern design

Ella Briggs (18801977) was a talented architect, designer, and writer whose influence was felt on both sides of the Atlantic. She trained with the Viennese Secessionists and brought their radical ideas to Gilded Age New York. She designed modernist housing for the masses in Austria, was jailed as a suspected spy in Mussolini's Italy, and thrived in Weimar Germany before suffering persecution under the Nazis. Fleeing to London, she contributed to England's postwar reconstruction. Yet despite a long and prolific career, her name is largely forgotten today. Finding Ella Briggs restores Briggs to her rightful place in the history of modernist design.

Despina Stratigakos and Elana Shapira bring together an international team of historians to provide the defining biography of this boldly unconventional designer. Whether she was fighting for integration at Europe's architecture schools or writing about innovative houses for American women's magazines like Good Housekeeping, Briggs embodied the transatlantic flow of modernism. This panoramic book uncovers new findings about Briggs, her networks, and projects, recovering the many facets of a life that spanned global borders and cultures.

Beautifully illustrated and drawing on a wealth of previously unpublished research from archives around the world, Finding Ella Briggs is the inspiring story of a woman who defied all obstacles to pursue her dream of designing for the modern client.

With contributions by Megan Brandow-Faller, Celina Kress, Drte Kuhlmann, Ulrike Matzer, Christine Oertel, Eva B. Ottillinger, Barbara Penner, Sabine Plakolm-Forsthuber, Monika Platzer, Ursula Prokop, Sabrina Rahman, Katrin Stingl, Carmen Trifina, and Christine Zwingl.

By: Despina Stratigakos, Elana Shapira
Contributions by: Barbara Penner, Christine Oertel, Dörte Kuhlmann
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States [Currently unable to ship to USA: see Shipping Info]
Dimensions: Height: 241mm, Width: 165mm,
ISBN: 9780691263953
ISBN 10: 0691263957
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 14 October 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Despina Stratigakos is SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Architecture at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Her books include Where Are the Women Architects? (Princeton) and A Women's Berlin. Elana Shapira is lecturer in the Cultural Studies Department at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. She is the author of Style and Seduction and the editor of Design Dialogue and Designing Transformation and (with Anne-Katrin Rossberg) Gestalterinnen, among other books.