A lively account of America's most original Victorian architect. Frank Furness's energy, confidence, brashness, vulgarity, and full-throated love of life vibrate in his architecture. This first biography details his abolitionist upbringing in staid Philadelphia, probes the horror of war and its translation into aggressive architecture--train stations, banks, and libraries--and illuminates Furness's influence on his century and the world. 200 b/w illustrations and photographs.