Patrick Dillon, který žije v Kenningtonu, vede úspěšnou architektonickou praxi. Jeho první román navázal na dílo, které se zabývá komplexními lidskými vztahy a morálními dilematy, a představuje autora, který se s citem pro detail a pronikavou psychologií noří do hlubin lidské povahy. Jeho psaní je známé svou schopností provokovat čtenáře k zamyšlení nad pravdou a lží a nad tím, jak tyto koncepty formují naše životy a rozhodnutí.
Většinu svého života trávíme uvnitř budov. Víme však, proč a jak je ale lidé začali stavět? Zdobit?
Navštivme slavné stavby, od pyramid egyptských faraonů až po Centre Pompidou v Paříži. Příběhy Patricka Dillona o významných budovách – a významných lidech, kteří je postavili – oslavuje vynalézavost lidského ducha.
Mimořádně podrobné ilustrace Stephena Biestyho nás zavedou dovnitř slavných budov a ukáží nám, jak tyto pozoruhodné stavby vlastně drží pohromadě.
"In the tumultuous aftermath of the Trojan War, a young man battles to save his home and his inheritance. Setting out to find his father, he ends up discovering himself." --
During the early eighteenth century, gin-drinking reached epidemic proportions in the slums of London. The spirit was sold from shops and market stalls, from basements and barrows in the streets, until every Londoner was averaging two pints of gin a week. Early eighteenth-century London was a violent and insecure town. Reformers blamed 'Madam Geneva' for everything from social decay to rising crime and passed eight major acts in an attempt to control it. When prohibition was attempted, it was greeted with popular riots and the explosion of a bomb in Westminster Hall. With arguments about gin drawing in writers such as Daniel Defoe and Henry Fielding, the campaign for reform reached its climax with the unforgettable image of Hogarth's 'Gin Lane'. This is the story of the rise and fall of 'Madam Geneva'. Gin-drinkers and sellers, politicians and distillers all add their voices to Patrick Dillon's vivid account of London's first drug craze, and the ultimately successful attempts to control it. 'Excellent.' - Andrew Marr 'Patrick Dillon has gathered together some marvellous tales here... This book is as crowded with sensational incident as an 18th-century newspaper... With its manic tempo, Dillon's prose embodies the relentless energy of the time... the city's infinite variety is also successfully invoked. He has, too, a gift for simplifying complex issues.' - Daily Telegraph 'A crisp, fast-paced account... Dillon paints a vivid picture of hard-drinking London, high on spirits and speculation... Dillon's book offers a fascinating tale, ringing with authentic voices.' - Sunday Times
