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The Phoenix: St. Paul's Cathedral And The Men Who Made Modern London

The Phoenix: St. Paul's Cathedral And The Men Who Made Modern London

by Leo Hollis (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2008

    $4.18

  • Used

    Paperback 2009

    $3.24
Synopsis

Opening in the 1640s, as the city was gripped in tumult leading up to the English Civil War, The Phoenix charts the lives and works of five extraordinary men, who would grow up in the chaos of a world turned upside down: the architect, Sir Christopher Wren; gardener and virtuosi, John Evelyn; the scientist, Robert Hooke; the radical philosopher, John Locke and the builder, Nicholas Barbon. At the heart of the story is the rebuilding of London's iconic cathedral, St Paul's. Interweaving science, architecture, history and philosophy, The Phoenix tells the story of the formation of the first modern city.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 400
 Edition: First Edition
 Publisher: Orion
Published: 08 May 2008
ISBN 10: 0297850776
ISBN 13: 9780297850779
Book Overview: Books about London are always popular, and Phoenix combines the story of St Paul's (a totem recognised all across the world) with the lives of the men who crafted the modern city out of the ashes of the great fire. Although there have been individual biographies of Wren and Hooke, there has not been a book that looks at how they acted as part of a generation of 'Civil War Children', and how they collectively impacted upon the city. The 300th anniversary of the completion of St Pauls is in 2008. Leo is young, very smart, incredibly promotable and passionate about London's history. As an ex-editor he already has a strong profile in the trade and he will generate a great deal of attention with this book.

Media Reviews
'The Phoenix is a truly inspiring story of human ingenuity and persistence in the face of disaster - and of how the future can be built out of the rubble of the past. On top of all that, it's hard to imagine a better introduction to the politics and culture of this glorious period in English history.' -- Ross King 'A wonderfully rich and informative book. To present deep scholarship so accessibly and with such fluency is a rare achievement.' -- Tom Holland 'This is a superlative book. Leo Hollis has that rare gift of making the complex, such as the nature of light and the complexity of national finance, comprehensible to the most lay of readers, whom he rewards - with no dumbing down - with fascinating details and characters.' -- Liza Picard 'In this fascinating, richly detailed account of how St Paul's rose from London's ashes after the Great Fire, Leo Hollis unravels what he calls this puzzle in stone to describe not just the new cathedral and its design and construction but also the complex politics, science and philosophy of the day and the ambitions of the extraordinary men who created the first truly modern city.' -- Lucy Moore 'A fascinating picture of the rebirth of London after the Fire and the men who made it happen, combining the history of ideas, architecture and the life of the city in a riveting narrative.' -- Jenny Uglow 'makes us see St Paul's as if for the first time, a remarkable achievement.' -- Jonathan Glancey 'Leo Hollis has set himself a daunting task in giving us the biographies of five men, recounting the history of England...He has brought it off triumphantly. The entire work is written in lively modern English without a trace of scholastic starch as Hollis successfully juggles the lives of the men while riding the uneasy monocycle of 17th-century politics and religious debate to give us a thoroughly engrossing adventure story.' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY ' a fascinating book' -- Peter Lewis THE DAILY MAIL 'the political obstacles... and the social detail of modern London on the make are consistently fascinating.' RA ARTS MAGAZINE ' In a vivid and engaging narrative, rich in detail, he describes the history of england from thr outbreak of the civil war to the birth of the empire, describing cultural and intellectual change as well as political and constitutional events.' BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE 'Hollis weaves together the stories of Wren and four contemporaries who each had a strong influence on the rebirth of London in the decades after the Great Fire of 1666 ... a skilful and enjoyable mix of biography and history.' HISTORY TODAY 'an ingenious and fluent overview of extraordinary men at an extraordinary moment, with St Paul's standing as its symbolic heart' Michael Prodger, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Hollis's book is an enjoyable read' Lisa Jardine, GUARDIAN 'Hollis weaves a lively tale of modern London's birth, beginning with a riveting street-by-street account of the fire as it spread from Thomas Farriner's bakery in Pudding Lane' SUNDAY TIMES 'What makes this book so fascinating, though, is not just the rich detail, but also its explanations of the emergence of the new thinking that so profoundly shaped the spirit of the age.' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'His book is a tour de force of biography, history, politics, philosophy and experimental science.' ECONOMIST 'Hollis is a historian with a novelist's eye for dramatic detail, and an infectious affection for both his subject and his five men... The Phoenix is an extremely entertaining work of popular history' CATHOLIC HERALD 'With Hollis as our knowledgeable guide, we watch as a new, vigorous spirit pervades the City of London... It is this new, enthralling spirit, just as much as Wren's 'puzzle in stone', that is the true subject of Leo Hollis's fine book. MAIL ON SUNDAY
Author Bio
Leo Hollis was educated at Stonyhurst College and read history at UEA. He is the author of books on London and Paris, and works in publishing. He lives with his wife and children in London.