The Pursuit of Pleasure: Gender, Space and Architecture in Regency London

by Jane Rendell

Until recently, architectural historians have focused their attention on buildings financed by wealthy patrons and designed by prestigious architects. Historical analysis has centered on the politics of this architecture and how social class has contributed to the design. Feminist historians have explored the role of women architects, and they have examined how gender difference informs architectural design.

Developing these areas of research, Jane Rendell discusses how gender theory can inform the study of architecture in early nineteenth-century London. She considers the gendering of public space as a complex and shifting series of moves between men and women, constructed and represented through spatial and social relations of consumption, display, and exchange. Drawing on geography, philosophy, and cultural theory, she investigates a number of specific architectural spaces—places of upper-class leisure and consumption in the West streets, clubs, assembly rooms, opera houses, and theaters. In discussing public urban sites and the social exchanges that take place there, Rendell also examines the types of individuals displayed in—or excluded by—these spaces, such as the rambler and the cyprian, precursors to the Parisian flâneur and prostitute. Illustrated with contemporary prints and drawings, The Pursuit of Pleasure is a rich analysis of public space at the birth of the modern metropolis.

Genres: Architecture, Research, Nonfiction, History

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Jane Rendell is Lecturer in Architecture at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.

Reviews

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of theory. Chapters of clubs, theatre, etc. get redundant

[Marsha Altman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads like the expanded graduate thesis it probably is, which is honestly not as bad as the introduction made it out to be. Lots of lines like, "This desire operates through tropes of mobility and visuality which locates them in controlling positions. The rambler is celebrated as an urban explorer, actively engaged in the pursuit of pleasure and women." Also, a good third of the book is footnotes. That said, it's not actually a bad book, if you want to know some interesting things about society in Regency England from an unusual perspective. It has an excellent analysis of Egan's "Life and Times in London" books which are so essential to the period and so impossible to get through.

I wouldn't really recommend this book unless you are already somewhat familiar with Regency England, but if you have already read a few books on the topic, this is a new take with interesting gender theories. The actual length of the text is 141 pages. The rest is footnotes.