This study investigates how the visual and cultural identity of Bath, England, was constructed, maintained, and transformed over three centuries. Peter Borsay, a historian specializing in urban history, utilizes a multidisciplinary framework to analyze the intersection of architecture, media, and public perception. By examining the city's evolution from an eighteenth-century resort to a twentieth-century heritage site, the author argues that the 'image' of Bath is a deliberate social and political construct rather than a static historical fact.

Scholars and urban historians frequently cite this work as a foundational text for understanding the relationship between urban planning and public image. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous examination of how cities curate their own historical legacies.