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Heritage

A History of How We Conserve Our Past
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Heritage by James Stourton explores the concept of heritage, tracing its origins and evolving meaning from the Victorian era to the present day. The book focuses on British cultural and natural landmarks, such as national parks, historic buildings like Blenheim Palace and Tattershall Castle, and the art housed within them. Stourton highlights two key conservation periods in the 1880s and the 1960s, examining ongoing challenges related to wealth, development, and societal attitudes. This work combines historical insight with contemporary reflection, presenting heritage as both a story of crisis and hopeful regeneration.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in cultural conservation, British history, architecture, and environmental preservation. Suitable for students, heritage professionals, and general readers seeking an informed and hopeful perspective on heritage in contemporary society.

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A comprehensive, illustrated history of the British heritage industry, from art historian and former Sotheby's Chairman James Stourton.

A comprehensive, illustrated history of the British heritage industry, from art historian and former Sotheby's Chairman James Stourton.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

What is heritage? When was it invented? What is its place in the world today? What is its place tomorrow?

Heritage is all around us: millions belong to its organisations, tens of thousands volunteer for it, and politicians pay lip service to it. When the Victorians began to employ the term in something approaching the modern sense, they applied it to cathedrals, castles, villages and certain landscapes. Since then, a multiplicity of heritage labels have arisen, cultural and commercial, tangible and intangible. For just as every era has its notion of heritage, so does every social group, and every generation.

In Heritage, James Stourton focuses on elements of our cultural and natural environment that have been deliberately preserved: the British countryside and national parks, buildings such as Blenheim Palace and Tattershall Castle, and the works of art inside them. He charts two heroic periods of conservation β€” the 1880s and the 1960s β€” and considers whether threats of wealth, rampant development and complacency are similar in the present day. Heritage is both a story of crisis and profound change in public perception, and one of hope and regeneration.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

A fascinating, erudite, and engaging book praised by Neil MacGregor. Tracy Borman calls it compelling and thought-provoking, offering a hopeful outlook for heritage's future. The Literary Review describes it as a masterful and readable survey of conservation history, while This England notes its comprehensive treatment of buildings, landscapes, and broader cultural aspects. James Stourton is commended for richly detailed and astute writing by The Sunday Times, with Art Quarterly highlighting the deft weaving of architectural and social history.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781838933173

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 09 November 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Apollo

Illustration: 2 x 8pp plate section colour

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 32.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 340g

Pages: 464

About the Author

James Stourton is a British art historian, a former Chairman of Sotheby's UK and the author of Great Houses of London, British Embassies, and the authorized biography of Kenneth Clark. Stourton frequently lectures to Cambridge University History of Art Faculty, Sotheby's Institute of Education and The Art Fund, and is a senior fellow of the Institute of Historical Research. He also sits on the Heritage Memorial Fund, a government panel which meets to decide what constitutes heritage and should be saved for the nation.

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