Andrew Ballantyne originally trained as an architect, but then found his way into research and writing. He has worked mainly at Newcastle University in the UK, but his interests range widely and he has worked with philosophers and archaeologists, as well as architects and architectural historians. He has chaired the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain and surveyed Paliochora on Kythera, a long-abandoned settlement in Greece, and wrote a monograph about Richard Payne Knight, who was an early benefactor of the British Museum. Andrew's books include Architecture: a Very Short Introduction, Key Buildings from Prehistory to the Present, Tudoresque: in Pursuit of the Ideal Home and John Ruskin: a Critical Life.