Reconnecting Gaudí's architecture directly with his faith, rather than treating his spirituality as an awkward footnote to his genius, is a genuinely important corrective for how he tends to be remembered. What stood out was structuring the book as a physical journey through Barcelona, walking in Gaudí's own footsteps through the buildings, parks, and landscapes he admired and created. That structure grounds the biography in a real place rather than only in ideas, letting readers experience his life the way he actually moved through it. I also appreciated not shying away from the tragedy, loss, and depression that shaped him, and connecting that suffering directly to his belief that his work was a religious vocation. Holding his private struggle and his public genius together, rather than separating the man from the myth, gives the book real emotional and spiritual depth that a purely architectural biography would miss.
About the Author
A former editor of the Catholic Herald (1988-1992), he writes features for the Daily and Sunday Telegraph titles, has an interview column in the Tablet and has presented television documentaries including the award-winning Channel 4 series, Catholics and Sex. Raised in Birkenhead, he has been director of the Longford Trust for penal reform since 2002.
