National Year of Reading – Interview with Dominic Bradbury
Our next interview for the National Year of Reading is with writer, journalist and lecturer, Dr Dominic Bradbury...
What was the first non-fiction/arts book you remember reading, and what was its impact on you?
I grew up in a house of books and my father was a writer while my mother was a librarian. So, even as a child, books and reading were always a huge part of our family lives with new titles flowing constantly through the house one way or another. My father would take me to literary festivals and talks when I was old enough, but it was usually my mother who would actually suggest books that I might like to read, mostly fiction but also some non-fiction. I would say that the first arts book that really made a big impression, cover to cover, was John Berger’s Ways of Seeing, which is not only about representations of art and the importance of different perspectives, but – as I saw it – empowering the reader to value their own opinions and ways of seeing. As a lesson about the importance of the audience, as well as the artist, and the collaborative relationship between the two, I thought it was a formative read and John Berger is always so wonderful at expressing his ideas that the book itself was a true pleasure.
What’s the latest art/design/other book you’ve read?
As a design writer myself, there is always a teetering pile of books by my desk about architecture, art and interiors, with my study increasingly being taken over by the growing stacks. One of my latest reads was Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s The Leopard, which I had never read before. It was published in 1958, just after the author’s death, and is a beautifully written portrait of Sicily in the years that surround Garibaldi’s journey of reunification during the late 19th century. It’s about Don Fabrizio, Prince of Salina, or ‘The Leopard’, and his family at a time of profound change in Sicily and beyond, as power shifts from the princes and aristocrats to a new, centralised government. A multi-layered portrait of a man coming to terms with this new order, Fabrizio is a deeply sympathetic but flawed character whose love for his family, his dogs, his country and his people sees him wishing an affectionate goodbye to his homeland while graciously accepting that his time is over.
What is your favourite Lund Humphries book, and why?
Avoiding the temptation to go for one of my own Lund Humphries books, I would opt for writer and photographer David Valinsky’s new book on Arts & Crafts architect E.S. Prior. The Architecture & Writings of E.S. Prior is a multi-layered and definitive portrait of a pioneering architect working on the cusp of tradition and modernity. He designed, among other residences, one of my all-time favourite Arts & Crafts houses, Voewood, in my native Norfolk. Now owned and very well cared for by book dealer Simon Finch, the house is rich in character, welcome and warmth, but is also highly innovative in its plan and construction. It’s a handsome, beautifully produced book that has the feel of a true labour of love.
What is currently on your to-read list, and why does it appeal to you?
I seem to be reading, or re-reading, quite a few books from the 1950s and 1960s at the moment, perhaps because of my love for the period in general. John Williams’ Stoner and Butcher’s Crossing, for example, and Davis Grubb’s Night of the Hunter, all of which are wonderful. Next up is Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. I remember seeing the film version and have wanted to read the book ever since, both for its depiction of post-war American suburbia and the troubled marriage at the centre of the story.
If you were starting a star-studded (art/architecture) book club, who, from any era, would you like to invite?
For all the stories, as well as the buildings, it would be wonderful to have Frank Lloyd Wright holding court for a while at the club. Beyond this, I would probably go for W.G. Sebald, who wrote my favourite novel about architecture, Austerlitz, which was also about many other things, including the endless search for identity and belonging. And William Golding, who I once met as a child and thought he looked like God, but I was too shy to ask him any questions; his extraordinary novel, The Spire, is also about architects of a kind, along with builders and obsessives. Last, but not least, it would be wonderful to catch up with my father, Malcolm Bradbury, who died in the year 2000. It would be good to tell him that his most famous book, The History Man, has just been reissued for its fiftieth birthday.
Dr Dominic Bradbury is a writer, journalist and lecturer. He has written many books on architecture and design, including monographs on Richard Seifert, Nick Eldridge, Conran + Partners, James Gorst Architects and Chris Dyson Architects, all published by Lund Humphries. He holds a PhD in architectural history and also contributes to many newspapers, magazines and journals in the UK and internationally.
