Susan Crosland
Parts of America Still Untouched by Progress
Much of what Lucinda Lambton, as an English writer, has discovered for herself is what Americans raised on the East Coast have known all their lives: those enclaves of earlier cultures brought from the Old World and now better preserved in the New. For such natives, her lavishly illustrated book offers the pleasures of recognition. Others, fed only on myths about America, will be amazed by what she reveals.
'Whereas in our little island', she writes, 'the waves of modernity have been able to reach and swamp almost everywhere, in giant America, this is by no means the case. Thanks to the scale of the country as well as the sensibilities of so many Americans, there is a myriad
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
'It is the ... sketches of the local and the overlooked that lend this book its density and drive, and emphasise Britain’s mostly low-key riches – if only you can be bothered to buy an anorak and seek.'
Jonathan Meades on the beauty of brutalism.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/castles-of-concrete
'Cruickshank’s history reveals an extraordinary eclecticism of architectural styles and buildings, from Dutch Revivalism to Arts and Crafts experimentation, from Georgian terraces to Victorian mansion blocks.'
William Boyd on the architecture of Chelsea.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/where-george-eliot-meets-mick-jagger
'The eight years he has spent in solitary confinement have had a devastating impact on his mental health ... human rights organisations believe his detention is punishment for his critical views.'
@lucyjpop on the Egyptian activist and poet Ahmed Douma.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/ahmed-douma