A review by balancinghistorybooks
Romantic Moderns: English Writers, Artists and the Imagination from Virginia Woolf to John Piper by Alexandra Harris

4.0

I had had my eye on Alexandra Harris' Romantic Moderns for quite a while before picking it up, both as a generally interesting piece of writing, and an aid to my PhD thesis. Physically, it is a gorgeous tome, with heavy cream paper, and lavish colour illustrations throughout. In her book, Harris discusses the 'modern English renaissance' which occurred during the 1930s and 1940s in quite staggering detail. She unpicks the period, looking at art, architecture, the nature of possessions, literature, and reclaiming heritage, amongst others. Whilst a lot of the art did not personally appeal to me, I found the wording and things which Harris touched upon fascinating on the whole. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on the modernisation of cookery, and weather. I am also fascinated by the English village, and found the chapter which deals with its preservation far-reaching and insightful. Harris writes wonderfully; her style is at times academic, but feels readily accessible to a wider audience.