The reader will not be bored with politics or the "future of China," for the book only treats of the common every-day things of the Chinese which seem so peculiar to us. These are described and, when possible, explained. Anecdotes are freely used to illustrate.
| LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN. |
|
Demy 8vo, cloth, 21/- |
|
Somerset House, Past and
Present |
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By RAYMOND NEEDHAM and ALEXANDER WEBSTER. |
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With Photogravure Frontispiece and many Illustrations. |
This book deals with the history of Somerset House from its foundation by the Lord Protector in 1547 to the present day. It is as far as possible a continuous record of the events which in times gone by gathered illustrious personages within the walls of the old palace and made it a centre of English social life. For two centuries Somerset House was the home of Queens and Princesses; it was associated with the stalwart Protestants of the Reformation and the intriguing Catholics of the Revolution; it has passed through greater vicissitudes than almost any other secular edifice in London. The modern building housed the early exhibitions of the Royal Academy of Arts, a Naval Museum, the Royal and other learned Societies, until, within the last fifty years, it was given over to its present occupants and the matter-of-fact romance of the Imperial Revenue. The history includes the story of King's College, which since its inauguration has occupied a building erected on the eastern edge of the site, and designed to harmonise with the main structure. The volume is illustrated by reproductions of rare old prints and a fine series of modern photographs.
| LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN. |