Product Description

There is a 'lost city' lying to the north of the modern city of Aberdeen. It is Scotland's most compact and least known architectural treasure-house. In this fine Burgh is a pattern-book of Scottish architecture, both vernacular and classical, and offers one of the most significant townscapes in all of Scotland. The conservation area of Old Aberdeen contains specimens of almost every type and size of Scottish building, sweeping picturesque views of the River Don and the 13th-century Brig o'Balgownie, the remains of a magnificent medieval cathedral, the Georgian town-houses of the Highland aristocracy, the highly-distinctive buildings of the ancient University of Aberdeen, atmospheric graveyards, long lawns and vistas, and a cobbled High Street of great distinction.Using their expert knowledge and sumptuous photography, the authors capture the unique cityscape and distinctive past of Old Aberdeen. "The Lost City" details the rich treasures of the burgh, with many illustrations drawn from the University's library and museum collections, a number of which are reproduced for the first time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85083 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

About the Author
Jane Stevenson was born in London, and brought up in Beijing, London and Bonn. She currently lives in Aberdeenshire, where she is Regius Professor of Humanity at the University of Aberdeen. She is the author of a number of historical works, two collections of novellas, four novels, a biography of Edward Burra, and has written for Harper's, and the Guardian, and the Observer. Peter Davidson is Professor of Renaissance Studies in the University of Aberdeen and Hon. Keeper of the University's Renaissance Collections. He has published widely on literature, art and music as well as on wider matters of cultural history and art history.Marc Ellington is a recipient of the Saltire, Civic Trust and European Heritage Awards and is a Director of Historic Scotland, a Trustee of the National Galleries of Scotland and has been involved in developing and managing a number of major built heritage and landscape conservation and restoration initiatives in the UK and abroad.Daniel MacCannell, a graduate of Aberdeen University and UCLA's MFA-Screenwriting program, is a widely published non-fiction writer who has received the Jack Nicholson prize and been nominated for the Fotokem Maverick Award for his fictional work.

Customer Reviews

A fitting tribute to Old Aberdeen
This is a truly magnificent book that will appeal to anyone interested in Scotland in general and in Aberdeen in particular. Everyone living in the Granite City and prospective students should have their own copy. It's a very handsome coffee-table book, stunningly illustrated with lavish photographs of Old Aberdeen and the University, and with many high-quality reproductions of marvels from the Library collections, some celebrated, others more secret. As ever, Jane Stevenson and Peter Davidson's style is engaging and lively. They take us through centuries of fascinating history that will challenge most reader's notions. It also reads as an intriguing cabinet of curiosities: many treasures are found in the Lost City.