The first comprehensive survey of a huge, rewarding and hitherto neglected field. Read presents a wide-ranging account of the sculpture of the nineteenth-century, placing it in the context of the lives and working conditions of the sculptors themselves. In the process he illuminates an astonishingly diverse selection of sculpture, from well-known monuments to works that have long been virtually forgotten.
“Produced on a scale and with a physical splendor that would be appropriate to Donatello or Bernini… an original contribution to the social history of a period that was exceptionally rich in strong and forceful characters and fateful events…. No student of the Victorian period can afford to be without this book.” –John Russell, The New York Times Book Review
“Read’s book will endure as a landmark in current scholarly investigation of the subject.” –Todd M. Volpe, The Magazine Antiques