Jules Lubbock was born in 1943 while his father Isaac was inventing his rocket. He was named after Jules Verne whose novels of space exploration inspired his father. He is now Professor Emeritus of Art History at Essex University. His books range from Italian Renaissance Art to Modern Architecture, Design and Town Planning. In the 1980s he was architecture critic for the New Statesman and wrote speeches on architecture for HRH Prince, now King Charles. He was a founding member of the Prince's Architecture and Planning Group and established the Prince's Summer School in Civil Architecture in 1990. His next book is On Ornament.

