Gothic Glories

Reproduction of the original: Glories of Spain by Lieut. Wise

Reproduction of the original: Glories of Spain by Charles W. Wood

In The Glory of Ottawa Carolyn Young takes the reader on an architectural tour of Canada's first parliament buildings. In the early 1860s these remarkable buildings - particularly the monumental Centre Block, which was destroyed by fire in 1916, and the magnificent polygonal library - became a tangible symbol of Canada's emerging nationhood and one of the most progressive and eclectic examples of the British secular Gothic Revival style.

Gabriel García Márquez’s novel One Hundred Years of Solitude seemed destined for obscurity upon its publication in 1967. The little-known author, small publisher, magical style, and setting in a remote Caribbean village were hardly the usual ingredients for success in the literary marketplace. Yet today it ranks among the best-selling books of all time. Translated into dozens of languages, it continues to enter the lives of new readers around the world. How did One Hundred Years of Solitude achieve this unlikely success? And what does its trajectory tell us about how a work of art becomes a classic? Ascent to Glory is a groundbreaking study of One Hundred Years of Solitude, from the moment García Márquez first had the idea for the novel to its global consecration. Using new documents from the author’s archives, Álvaro Santana-Acuña shows how García Márquez wrote the novel, going beyond the many legends that surround it. He unveils the literary ideas and networks that made possible the book’s creation and initial success. Santana-Acuña then follows this novel’s path in more than seventy countries on five continents and explains how thousands of people and organizations have helped it to become a global classic. Shedding new light on the novel’s imagination, production, and reception, Ascent to Glory is an eye-opening book for cultural sociologists and literary historians as well as for fans of García Márquez and One Hundred Years of Solitude.

From fairy-tale castles and baronial halls to dungeons, torture and horror, the Gothic style has been incredibly influential. Indeed the cultural heritage of Britain owes more to the Gothic style than any other period, and many of our nation's buildings have a Gothic past. Explore the history of this awe-inspiring style of architecture in Alexandrina Buchanan's informative guide to the Gothic. The guide comprehensively covers the origins of the style and its use in church buildings as well as homes, through to the Victorian and Modern Gothic. illustrated by colour photographs of Gothic features and artworks, this guide is also accompanied by a CD of music with a Gothic theme to celebrate some of our most magnificent Gothic glories. A classic Pitkin. Look out for more Pitkin Guides on the very best of British history, heritage and travel.

Graham Parry offers an accessible survey of the achievements of Laudian culture, so much of which was destroyed in the Civil Wars, taking into account every area and medium which it influenced.