With a fondness for classical antiquities and neoclassical design, the connoisseur Thomas Hope (1769–1831) sought to influence Georgian taste by promoting informed interior decoration, displaying his own considerable art collection, and writing with insight on aesthetic topics. This two-volume work, originally published posthumously in 1835, traces the evolution of Western architecture since antiquity. Hope was a keen traveller, and the examples he cites are drawn from buildings that he studied on journeys through Europe and beyond, notably in those countries bordering the Mediterranean. Reissued here in the third edition that appeared in 1840, Volume 1 examines how religions, climates, landscapes and prevailing mores shaped the architectural preferences of civilisations from ancient Egypt to the Gothic revival, as well as how different cultures adapted foreign or ancient architectural innovations for their own ends.
