Arbiter of Elegance: A Biography of Robert Adam

In this fascinating biography, Roderick Graham follows Adam's life and career from schooldays in Edinburgh through study in Italy and the establishment of his architectural practice in London. It explains his passionate ambition, not only to excel as an architect, but to be accepted as a gentleman in that most snobbish period of our history. No one contributed more to the artistic eminence of 'Age of Elegance' than Robert Adam (1728-92), the pre-eminent architect of his day whose expertise and imagination extended also to interior design, furniture and garden design. His legacy has echoed through design ever since, his name synonymous with elegance, the Enlightenment, of the best features of the eighteenth century.

Roderick Graham was educated at the Royal High School of Edinburgh and Edinburgh University before serving with the Royal Army Education Corps as Staff Officer (Education) East Africa Command. He subsequently enjoyed a long and varied career in television and radio as a writer, freelance director and producer, and worked for a period as Head of Drama for BBC TV Scotland. He has also taught writing and directing at Napier and Leeds Metropolitan Universities, Edinburgh College of Art and Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He is the author of the critically acclaimed John Knox: Democrat (Hale, 2001) and The Great Infidel: A Life of David Hume. He lives in Edinburgh.