“Dr Leyds is far too sweeping in his charges, due in large measure to his hatred of everything British and to his inexperience of native affairs. The book is one to be read and studied by all who desire to see both sides of a bad patch in our colonial history.”
+ − The Times [London] Lit Sup p147 Mr 4 ’20 2200w
L’HOPITAL, WINEFRIDE DE. Westminster cathedral and its architect; with an introd. by W. R. Lethaby. 2v il *$12 (5c) Dodd 726
(Eng ed 20–13853)
These volumes are a memorial to a great architect by his daughter. Volume 1 is devoted to the building of the cathedral and volume 2 to the making of the architect. Together the books contain 160 illustrations and numerous architectural plans. Partial contents of volume 1: The laying of the foundation-stone; Birth of the cathedral idea; The choosing of the architect and the style, 1892–1894; The plan; The structure—building progress—materials—constructional problems; Description and details of exterior; Description and details of interior; The adaptation and development of Byzantine architecture as exemplified in the cathedral; The mosaics; Appendices. Volume 2 contains the architect’s life history and the story of his architectural training and career and an index.
“Though her literary style is frequently clumsy and never particularly good, she had the necessary facts at her disposal and upon the whole has used them well. A more skilled biographer would have given us more of Bentley.”
+ − Cath World 111:821 S ’20 500w
“On the technical and intellectual side, the work might have been composed by an architect having no relation to Bentley, and this it is which gives a special attraction to these 700 pages. There is but one trace of feeling that might perhaps be deprecated: a certain sensitiveness lest, in arranging for the interior completion of the cathedral, the present or future authorities may be lacking in loyalty to the ideals of the architect.”
+ − Sat R 129:211 F 28 ’20 1100w