Clive Aslet
CLIVE ASLET
SIR EDWIN LUTYENS: BRITAIN’S GREATEST ARCHITECT?
Edwin Lutyens (born 1869) was the most prominent British architect of the early 20th century. He ws the tenth of thirteen children born to Charles Lutyens, a soldier and painter, and his wife Mary. Lutyens studied architecture at the South Kensington School of Art from 1885 to 1887. After brief work experience, he started his own practice in 1888, his first commmision being a private house in Surrey. Lutyens’ work was heavily featured in, and promoted by, Country Life magazine and its editor Edwrd Hudson. His practice, which flourished after 1900, included two churches for Hampstead Garden Suburb, substantial buildings and town planning in New Delhi, and the famous Cenotaph memorial in Whitehall to the dead of the First World War.
The Spectator wrote of Aslet’s Lutyens biography: "In unduly modest remarks at the opening of this immaculate book, Clive Aslet, one of our most distinguished architectural historians, notes that there have been substantial biographies of Sir Edwin Lutyens, and he does not pretend to emulate them. His achievement, however, is considerable...First, he appreciates the sort of man Lutyens was, the influences upon him, and how he interacted with his family and his clients. Second, he has a deep understanding of the buildings, and the techniques employed in making them, and an enthusiasm he communicates unequivocally to his readers."
MEET THE AUTHOR
CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO OF THE AUTHOR (52 MINUTES)
Clive Aslet (born 1955) is a journalist and author. He joined Country Life magazine in 1977, rising to become editor in 1993. He held that post for 13 years, then becoming Editor-at-Large. This role gave him time to write books, and to write for other newspapers and magazines. Aslet was educated at King’s College School, Wimbledon, and at Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he obtained his degree in the History of Architecture.
