{"product_id":"building-britannia-by-steven-parissien-9781801108751","title":"Building Britannia","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn ambitious history of Britain told through the stories of twenty-five notable structures, from the Iron Age fortification of Maiden Castle in Dorset to the Gherkin.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBuilding Britannia\u003c\/em\u003e is a chronicle of social, political, and economic change seen through the prism of the country's built environment, but also a sequence of closely observed studies of a series of intrinsically remarkable structures: some of them beautiful or otherwise imposing; some of them more coldly functional; all of them with richly fascinating stories to tell.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSteven Parissien tells both a national story, tracing how a growing sense of British nationhood was expressed through the country's architecture, and also examines how these structures were used by later generations to signpost, mythologise, or remake British history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRubbing shoulders with some 'expected' building choices – the Roman baths at Aquae Sulis, the early Gothic splendour of Lincoln Cathedral, and the Tudor jewel that is Little Moreton Hall – are some striking inclusions that promise to open doors into what will be, for many readers, less familiar areas of social history. These include The Briton’s Protection, a Regency pub close in Manchester city centre, and the Edwardian Baroque Electric Cinema in Notting Hill, one of the country's oldest working cinemas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThus, as well as identifying the relevance of certain iconic structures to the unfolding of the national story, \u003cem\u003eBuilding Britannia\u003c\/em\u003e finds fascination and meaning in the everyday and the disregarded.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46832596353260,"sku":"9781801108751","price":74.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/7187603482829.jpg?v=1758392625","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/building-britannia-by-steven-parissien-9781801108751","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}