The Gothic Revival

First published in 1928 and written while the author was still at Oxford, this book has become a classic. It remains the best possible introduction to the most widespread and influential architectural and decorative arts movement England ever produced.
Though Gothic Revival buildings had changed the face of both town and country, they were hardly appreciated in the first half of this century. Architectural historians neglected them because so few were seen as great works of art; others averted their gaze, or laughed. That taste later changed was in many ways due to this book. Kenneth Clark's exploration of the changes in ideals and sensibility that inspired the Revival made it possible to see again with the eyes of those for whom the buildings had been designed, and whose imaginations they had fired.