Robin Boyd: A Life
Australian History Reference Cultural History Biography Art & Design Architecture Mid-Century Modernism
Robin Boyd: A Life is the only full-scale biography of Australia’s most influential modern architect, written by the country’s leading historian of ideas, Geoffrey Serle. Published by Melbourne University Press in 1996 and now a sought-after vintage paperback, this richly illustrated 367-page volume traces Boyd’s trajectory from inter-war Melbourne society to international recognition as critic, educator and designer of the iconic Featherston House. Serle’s narrative weaves architectural analysis with cultural history, showing how Boyd’s books The Australian Ugliness and Living in Australia reshaped national taste and still inform debates on suburban sprawl, heritage and climate-responsive design. Collectors value the edition for its crisp period photographs, many never reprinted, and for Serle’s first-hand access to Boyd’s letters and family archives.
For readers beyond architecture, the book is a compelling portrait of mid-century Australian life: post-war migration, the rise of the small-home movement, and the birth of a design-conscious middle class. Serle situates Boyd alongside contemporaries such as Robin Dods, Walter Burley Griffin and Harry Seidler, explaining how modernist ideas were adapted to the Australian landscape, climate and lifestyle. The result is a cultural biography that doubles as a reference work for heritage consultants, students of Australian studies and anyone restoring or appreciating post-war homes.
This copy is clean, tight and complete with its original dust jacket; the only marks are an inscription on the front inner cover and a single scuff on page 326—no dog-ears, no underlining, no ex-library stamps. Because the 1996 print run was modest and never re-issued in hardback, well-preserved copies are increasingly scarce. Owning one places the core story of Australian architecture on your shelf and provides an authoritative source for essays, heritage reports or simply a deeper appreciation of the streetscapes around you.
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