Sir Christopher Wren: His Family and His Times With Original Letters and a Discourse on Architecture Hitherto Unpublished. 1585-1723.

This intimate portrait of one of England’s most influential architects goes beyond the familiar skyline of St Paul’s and the rebuilt City churches. Drawing on previously unpublished letters, family memoirs, and a fresh discourse on architecture, the narrative reveals the modest, diligent mind behind the grand designs. Readers are invited into Wren’s world, where scientific curiosity and quiet devotion intersect with the bustling life of post‑civil‑war London.

The author’s research leans heavily on the rare “Parentalia,” a 1750 family memoir compiled by Wren’s own descendants, supplemented by scattered diary entries, engravings and correspondence. By piecing together these fragmented sources, the book sketches the Wren family’s loyalist politics, their church‑school upbringing, and the personal losses that shaped Christopher’s character. The result is a richly textured glimpse of the man and his times, offering fresh insight into the forces that molded a figure whose legacy still defines the city’s silhouette.