At the height of the Victorian period, a craze for Gothic style swept England and spread far beyond. Gothic architecture, associated with the social and cultural ideals of the Middle Ages, was seen as a means of remaking the modern world. In this exposition, Chris Brooks unravels the layers of meaning that Gothic held for its many reinventors: from the political uses of Gothic history in the 17th century to Barry and Pugin's Houses of Parliament in the mid-19th century. Yet Gothic is not just buildings: continually recreated, it has taken the form of poetry and fiction, of painting and sculpture, of movies and video games, of Gothic music and Gothic punk. Gothic became a dominant cultural and architectural force not only in 19th-century Britain, but across Europe, in the United States and in the countries of the British Empire. It is still pervasive. This book deals comprehensively with the whole scope of the Gothic Revival.

Author Biography

Chris Brooks lectures on Victorian culture at Exeter University's School of English. He is also Chairman of the Victorian Society, a Trustee of the Albert Memorial, and a member of English Heritage's Cathedrals and Churches Advisory Committee. He has written and edited several books, including Signs for the Times: Symbolic Realism in the Mid-Victorian World.