The Queen Anne House: America's Victorian Vernacular

by Janet Foster, Radek Kurzaj (Photographer)

Queen Anne–style houses are arguably the most charming and picturesque of all Victorians. In this first-ever book on the American Queen Anne style, noted preservationist Janet W. Foster presents a thoughtful recognition of these houses’ place in the history of American architecture.

Built across the U.S. during the late 19th century (The Inn at Castle Hill in Newport, RI, is a popular example), features of Queen Anne homes include gabled roofs; corbelled chimneys; vertical windows; large porches; balconies; and cut-stone foundations. Foster explains distinguishing elements of the Queen Anne tradition as she examines 21 noted homes, many of them not open to the public and never before published. With more than 200 magnificent photographs, this homage to a great American art form will delight anyone who appreciates a beautiful home.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction, History, Photography

240 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Janet Foster is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at LSE. She has also worked at the Universities of Cambridge and Warwick. She is the author of two sole authored books Villains: Crime and Community in the Inner City (Routledge, 1990); Docklands: cultures in conflict, worlds in collision (UCL Press, 1999)

Reviews

[Kiley Secrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous book for anyone that would like to learn everything there is to know about Queen Anne, Victorian architecture. Foster begins at the beginning with the origins of the style and shows how it evolved over time.

Many diverse examples of Queen Anne homes from different regions of the US are featured with written descriptions. This is very helpful in learning and understanding how the style was utilized and varies throughout the country. There is a wide breath of homes featured. You will find everything from the famous William Carson Mansion to a Queen Anne farm house. The final chapter shows a George F. Barber pattern book house and discussed the influence of pattern books on the era.

I especially enjoyed the chapter on the Gale house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Oak Park. It is an atypical Queen Anne home and the analysis of it was quite intriguing.

This book is a must read for any scholar that is interested in late-nineteenth century architecture.

[Kaethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I just want to look at pretty pictures: I would have tolerated about a million more, because the houses are so charming, and the photography so good. So the first time through, admiring was it.

But sometimes something in a caption caught my attention, or I was curious about something else, so I ended up reading it like 1.25 times. Many things were taught me, most of which were more-or-less immediately forgotten. But the point, admirably reinforced, that these were considered cutting edge technology homes: that'll last. And now I understand both why they are so appealing in general and why my preference tends towards the downscale and/or post-Anne houses. The richness of detail in these exemplars just overwhelms me. The smaller and cheaper homes carry the traits which dominate in the later Four Squares of which I am so fond.

Quality context of the style as a uniquly North American subset of Victorian domestic architecture.

Library copy

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Color combinations of the home on the cover caught my eye. Victorian ads, illustrations and footnotes from architectural journals dated 1870-1890 lend a pleasing, not overly academic thrust to nuts-and-bolts information that deepens readers' understanding of this alluring style, the times, and people who created homes during this period in American history. The author, Janet W. Foster, is the Associate Director of the Historic Preservation Program at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. That was enough for me!

[Julie H. Ernstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

We live in a Queen Anne cottage and this book is great in demonstrating the wide range of elements of the Queen Anne, how it differs from typical high-style Victorian architecture, and is a great source of historical information, design ideas, and resources for achieving a good compromise between old and new.

[Catherine Woodman]

We are buying a Victorian house, and I am trying to learn a little but more about what we are seeing, what we are restoring to and what we are in for!

[Steve Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great pictures. Great houses. Great architectural writing. Worth it if you're into that kind of thing.