Born in Sydney, Chistopher Tadgell studied art history at the Courtauld Institute in London and subsequently taught architectural history for almost thirty years before devoting himself full-time to writing and research, travelling worldwide to examine and photograph buildings from every tradition and period. He is a Trustee of the World Monuments Fund, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquities and a member of both the British and American Societies of Architectural History. His History of Architecture in India is the definitive one-volume account, whilst his publications on French architecture include the standard account in Baroque and Rococo Architecture and Decoration.