{"product_id":"9780720613445","title":"The Smythson Circle: The Story of Six Great English Houses","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn an absorbing narrative stretching from 1541 to 1614, charting the creation of the first Renaissance buildings in England, the author of \u003ci\u003eBess of Hardwick\u003c\/i\u003e describes how Chatsworth, Old and New Hardwick Halls, Wollaton, Bolsover Castle, and Longleat all came to be built in this vital period in architectural history. Bess is once again a central character as the patroness of this astonishing burst of activity, but this is also the story of a ghost of unsung heroes who worked on the buildings mainly under Robert Smythson, who can be seen as the \"godfather of English architecture.\"  With painstaking study, the author has uncovered a wealth of personalities who created these buildings, English supermen who were seemingly lost to history. Far from being a dry architectural study, this is a detective story and quintessentially Elizabethan drama, full of grand schemes and sometimes dashed hopes, taking in marital sagas, financial ruin, sudden fires, and a host of unforgettable characters.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Owen, Peter Limited","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47028685865200,"sku":"9780720613445","price":18.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780720613445_p0.jpg?v=1763631820","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780720613445","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}