Alison Lurie is a writer, novelist and academic. She won the Pulitzer Prize for her 1984 novel Foreign Affairs. Although better known as a novelist, she has also written numerous non-fiction books and articles, particularly on children’s literature and the semiotics of dress. Her new book, and the subject of our interview is THE LANGUAGE OF HOUSES: How Buildings Speak to Us . Lurie dissects the idea that

buildings have a story to tell us if we know how to listen. This new work of non-fiction is an entertaining and fascinating exploration of the secret language of architecture and Lurie acts as interpreter and at times biographer for the structures all around us