Edwin Rickards by Timothy Brittain-Catlin

This is the first book devoted to the life and work of the most exuberant, preternaturally confident, and stylish of Edwardian architects. Rickards’ buildings were described by John Summerson, a leading British architectural historian, to effervesce like fine champagne.

Profusely illustrated throughout with stunning new photography by Robin Forster, and by Rickards’ own sketches and drawings, this book portrays his meteoric rise that ended with his early death and his close friendship with the novelist Arnold Bennett who described him, along with H.G Wells, as one of “the two most interesting, provocative, and stimulating men I have yet encountered”.

'Brittain-Catlin has done a fine job, erudite and entertaining, informative and perceptive, with a splendid choice of visual matter.'  James Stevens Curl, The Critic

‘Simply titled Edwin Rickards, Brittain-Catlin’s book is a concise architectural biography of an important but widely underappreciated British architect. Beautifully written and engaging throughout, it aims to show that Rickards (1872–1920) was both a and one of British history’s great artist-architects.’
G. A. Bremner, The Burlington Magazine

‘Timothy Brittain-Catlin’s new monograph in The Victorian Society series, published by Liverpool University Press, is a welcome and incisive introduction to the work of this extraordinary figure. Brittain-Catlin deftly deals with the complexity of his character and with the structural and artistic qualities of his architecture, and the book benefits from excellent new photography by Robin Forster which conveys the sheer bravado of these buildings’
Jeremy Musson, The Victorian

‘In this well-illustrated book (the latest in the Victorian Society’s invaluable series on Victorian and Edwardian architects), which includes many high-quality contemporary photographs of Rickards’ buildings, and reproductions of his architectural drawings, caricatures and accomplished watercolours, the author presents an engaging and lively review of Rickards’ professional life; and the book is enhanced by numerous references to his personal interests and friendships, notably his long and enduring one with the novelist, Arnold Bennett... This is a splendid book, with a comprehensive bibliography and a list of all Rickards’ executed works.’
Nicholas Doggett, Context

'delightful and beautifully illustrated book'  James Stevens Curl, The Critic

'the photographs by Robin Forster are stupendous' James Stevens Curl, The Critic