A History Of London

A history of England's most important city traces its beginnings and its many inhabitants and its rise to importance as a modern metropolis of fashion, art, business, and culture

Presents a comprehensive history of London - the incredibly unique and complicated city - from the fires and plundering of latterday Londinium to the frenetic art, music and politics of London.

Drawing on a multitude of sources and an abundance of unfamiliar anecdotes, Inwood tirelessly explores the history of a vibrant and multi-cultural city defined as much by the mob as the monarch. BOMC Selection. 32 pp. illustrations. 20 maps. Indexed. Bibliography.

As the United Kingdom left the European Union, during a period of international and domestic turmoil, London found itself at a turning point. This critical moment presents an opportunity to look back, with a distinctive perspective, a focus on London in its national and, perhaps even more importantly, its international contexts, rather than on the city itself in isolation. It is the interactions of London that Black considers, and he does so in order to address the question as to why London became the foremost international city, how it sustained that position, and what its future holds. The book is as much about economics and culture as it is about politics and society. It deals with migration, communications, empire and cultural energy, rather than the mechanisms of parish vestries. London's earlier period is covered, but the principal focus is on the last half millennium, the period during which London became a major trader with the trans-oceanic world, and the ruler of trans-oceanic colonies, while the English language became an increasingly important cultural medium, one centred on London. The book includes plentiful literary references, quotations from visitors, and boxes covering discrete topics, such as Jack the Ripper.

In the eyes of Britain’s heritage industry, London is the traditional home of empire, monarchy and power, an urban wonderland for the privileged, where the vast majority of Londoners feature only to applaud in the background. Yet, for nearly 2000 years, the city has been a breeding ground for radical ideas, home to thinkers, heretics and rebels from John Wycliffe to Karl Marx. It has been the site of sometimes violent clashes that changed the course of history: the Levellers’ doomed struggle for liberty in the aftermath of the Civil War; the silk weavers, match girls and dockers who crusaded for workers’ rights; and the Battle of Cable Street, where East Enders took on Oswald Mosley’s Black Shirts. A People’s History of London journeys to a city of pamphleteers, agitators, exiles and revolutionaries, where millions of people have struggled in obscurity to secure a better future.

David Kynaston's ground-breaking history of the City of London, published in four volumes between 1994 and 2001, is a modern classic. Skilfully edited into a single volume by David Milner, it tells a story as dramatic as any novel, while explaining the mysteries of the financial world in a way that we can all understand. This is a story of booms, busts and bankruptcies, dress codes, eating habits, pay, humour, changing architecture and the unique culture of the Square Mile which brings us up to the modern age.

'Fascinating and timely. Required reading for every developer, planner or councillor who holds London in trust today' Griff Rhys Jones 'Accessible, clear and readable' Rowan Moore, The Observer ________________________ LONDON: a settlement founded by the Romans, occupied by the Saxons, conquered by the Danes and ruled by the Normans. This unremarkable place - not even included in the Domesday Book - became a medieval maze of alleys and courtyards, later to be chequered with grand estates of Georgian splendour. It swelled with industry and became the centre of the largest empire in history. And rising from the rubble of the Blitz, it is now one of the greatest cities in the world. From the prehistoric occupants of the Thames valley to the preoccupied commuters of today, Simon Jenkins brings together the key events, individuals and trends in London's history to create a matchless portrait of the capital. ________________________ 'A vivid and deeply well-informed account of London's history' Charles Saumarez Smith, Professor of Cultural History, Queen Mary University of London 'Extremely informative and witty' Roy Porter, author of London: A Social History on Landlords to London 'A short, invigorating gallop over two and a half thousand years' Scotsman on A Short History of Europe

London has for most of 2000 years been the hub of the political, economic, and cultural life of the British Isles. No other city has held such a dominant national position for so long. This new study, by the doyen of London historians, describes London's diverse past, from its origins as aRoman settlement at the first bridging of the Thames to the world-class metropolis it is today. It provides a vivid account of a city which was the 'deere sweete' place which Chaucer loved more than any other city on earth, which was for Dickens his 'magic lantern', and to Keats 'a great sea',howling for more wrecks. It is also a story of much contrast and remarkable resilience; through great fires and pestilence, civil war, and the Blitz, London has rebuilt and reinvented itself for each generation.