Boston Bohemia, 1881-1900: Ralph Adams Cram--Life and Architecture

by Douglass Shand-Tucci, Ralph Adams Cram

The first volume of a two-volume biography of Cram (1863-1942), America's greatest church architect. Volume 1 focuses on Cram's early architectural and literary work within the context of America's earliest avant-garde Boston's little known fin-de-siFcle bohemia in which Cram figured as leader, editor, art critic, poet, and designer. Includes 114 b&w figures but no glossy plates. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

569 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1995

Reviews

[Architeacher]

Shand-Tucci has written a necessary, even essential book, but its eccentric idiosyncratic style gets in the way of an important story.

[Harrison Glaze]

Sometimes frustrating, always fascinating. Shand-Tucci has an encyclopedic knowledge and a deep understanding of Cram’s work, ideas, and deliciously decadent fin-de-siecle Boston milieu. Unfortunately, the good stuff—and it is very good—is too often buried in pages of psychological speculations (not to mention entirely too much Camille Paglia) that add little to the book’s most important arguments and sometimes strain their credibility. Still, a thoughtful, well-researched, and instructive study, and I look forward to reading the sequel.