The Rogue Goths – R.L. Roumieu, Joseph Peacock and Bassett Keeling by Edmund Harris

Edmund Harris’s book is the first study devoted to a much-discussed yet poorly-covered chapter in British architectural history which produced some of Victorian England’s most striking and dramatic Gothic buildings. The Rogue Goths includes an introduction to this generation of flamboyant and eccentric architects that began to make its mark in the 1860s. There are studies of three architects Robert Lewis Roumieu, Bassett Keeling and a similarly pioneering study of the life and work of Joseph Peacock, architect of St Simon Zelotes, Chelsea, one of Sir John Betjeman’s favourite Victorian churches. The volume is densely illustrated with excellent new photography by Robin Forster, alongside sketches and drawings.

'Those who have followed Edmund Harris's progress over recent years - notably his learned blog Less Eminent Victorians - will cheer to discover that some of his knowledge has now crystallised into a book.' Hugh Pearman, The Victorian

'Harris is a meticulous scholar and it is obvious that a good part of what is presented here has been unearthed from years of archive riffling.' Robert Bevan, The Times Literary Supplement

'Harris illuminates the spectacle of Roguery as vividly as if he were Keeling’s ceiling.' Hugh Pearman, The Victorian