2011 edn.

'In Curl, the reader has an expert on European architecture and a scholar with a profound knowledge of Masonic history and its symbolism. ...This superb book is...written in...Curl’s own inimitable style... [his] ...erudite study should be considered essential reading...'

‘Curl’s books are always brilliantly illustrated to include the results of his wide-ranging learning, extensive library research and personal collecting. … This new exposure … stands as a permanent tribute to Curl’s enthusiastic scholarship.’

‘Delving into a subject area in which few are prepared to venture, …Curl amply and convincingly demonstrates that Freemasonry had widespread influence and application in several of the arts in the Age of Enlightenment, but especially architecture, with which it has many symbolic links… Curl is more qualified, and better placed, than anyone else to undertake this daunting project and also make far-reaching connection….The book is wide ranging…well illustrated…and written in the author’s familiar ebullient style, with trenchant personal observations and opinions…it stands as a commanding account of its subject that will not be superseded for years to come, and a fitting climax to an illustrious and greatly productive career.’

'Curl … has crafted a rich and stimulating exploration of Masonic history, ideology, symbolism and influence, ranging from antiquity to the twentieth century… Aspects of architecture and landscape (including gardens, monuments and cemeteries) are expertly woven through the main narrative, alongside themes touching on music (for example, a consideration of sets for operas such as ‘The Magic Flute’), literature, philosophy, art and artefacts. This is, indisputably, an impressively learned work.'

'It is astonishing how many lacunae still survive in the way in which the history of architecture is recalled and recorded...  Curl’s view is that this state of affairs is due to the fact that Freemasonry draws its inspiration from well before the dawn of the monotheistic religions, and that its aims are too broad, too liberal, and too indefinable to sit comfortably with political or religious establishments....Curl...is certainly right in claiming that blatant references to Masonry in architectural style have generally been ignored by critics who cannot see beyond conventional definitions: he produces countless examples of extraordinary designs which ought to be much better known than they are. ... Curl’s discussion of the relationships between [landscape complexes] and developing philosophical and political ideas is fascinating... In common with all of Curl’s books, the scholarship is exemplary.'

'In the small but very active international network of historians of Freemasonry, Curl is an éminence grise. His beautiful publications … are manifold, and Freemasonry has a distinct place in his œuvre…. Freemasonry & the Enlightenment…is an enriched and expanded development of an earlier work … His thesis is that the influence of the order has been grossly under-estimated and that Masonic lore holds a considerable place in the buildings and imagery of the 18th and 19th centuries.'

'This book is essential reading for all those interested in the long eighteenth century or in architecture more generally… Curl identifies the freemasonry of the eighteenth century very much with liberal and tolerant philosophy. He is at pains to draw distinctions between the freemasonry of continental Europe and that of England and Scotland. … Professor Andrew Prescott, who provides the foreword to the book, has elsewhere called it magisterial. That it is, but its real legacy will be the arguing of its concerns in higher courts.'

'If you only know the Freemasons through the distorted accounts of caricaturists, this ... is a powerful corrective. By linking Freemasonry with the Enlightenment, the book’s very title is making a substantial claim for regarding this confraternity...as central to the European intellectual movements of the day… Curl, always a vivid and entertaining writer, has no doubts on this matter: “Freemasonry played a central role in the Enlightenment”, he asserts in his introduction, adding: “the fact that so many so-called ‘academics’ have avoided the issue is very peculiar, indicative of cowardice, dishonesty, or worse”. Perhaps Curl should offer a prayer of thanks for such cowardice, because the academic failure he detects has allowed him the opportunity to get in first.'