London

by Peter Ackroyd

  It is perhaps appropriate that, at the beginning of the twentieth century, there should also be a concentration of books on the occluded or darker aspects of the city. London in Shadow by B. Kennedy (London, 1902) is complemented by London’s Underworld by T. Holmes (London, 1912), one of the many studies devoted to the vagrant and the dispossessed at the turn of the century. The atmosphere is deepened by S. Graham’s London Nights (London, 1925), a highly evocative study, and rendered poignant by P. Norman’s London Vanished and Vanishing (London, 1905). C.H. Rolph’s London Particulars (London, 1980) provides a detailed and not at all nostalgic memoir of the early decades, while J. Schneer’s London 1900 (New Haven, 1999) offers an “over-view” of social and cultural developments at that time of transition. A more optimistic version of urban commentary emerged in The Face of London by H.P. Clunn (London, 1932), The Wonderful Story of London edited by H. Wheeler (London, 1949), and A. Bush’s Portrait of London (London, 1950). One of the greatest of twentieth-century accounts, however, remains London: The Unique City by S.E. Rasmussen (London, 1934) which seems to prove the familiar adage that foreign observers view London matters with a clear eye. A Guide to the Structure of London by M. Ash (Bath, 1972) is good on the intricacies of post-War planning. Docklands in the Making by A. Cox (London, 1995) is a lively introduction to the phenomenon of the resurgent banks of the Thames, and takes its rightful place as part of the great Survey of London which has been compiled over a period of one hundred years. In a similar spirit Focus on London 97 (London, 1996), published by the Office of National Statistics, is a source of reliable information. The Making of Modern London by S. Humphries and J. Taylor (London, 1986) is required reading, and is particularly good on the growth of the suburbs. London by S. Harding (London, 1993) can be recommended together with London: a New Metropolitan Geography edited by K. Hoggart and D.R. Green (London, 1991). H. Marshall’s Twilight London (Plymouth, 1971) is one of a number of studies devoted to the problems of contemporary poverty and homelessness; others include B. Mahony’s A Capital Offence (London, 1988) and No Way Home by G. Randall (London, 1988). The London Nobody Knows by G. Fletcher (London, 1962) is a highly readable account of the more arcane aspects of London life, and P. Wright’s A Journey Through Ruins: The Last Days of London (London, 1991) opens up the purlieus of Dalston and Hackney to public gaze. V.S. Pritchett’s urban memoir, London Perceived (London, 1974) is recommended, together with J. Raban’s Soft City (London, 1974).

  There are several late twentieth-century studies of London, among the best of which are S. Inwood’s A History of London (London, 1998), a truly comprehensive and scholarly account of the city from its earliest times, and R. Porter’s London: A Social History (London, 1994) which is more polemical in intent but no less readable. Landlords to London: the Story of a Capital and its Growth and The Selling of Mary Davies by S. Jenkins (London, 1975 and 1993) are invaluable. F. Sheppard’s London: A Social History (Oxford, 1998) is concise and serious, while M. Hebbert’s London (Chichester, 1998) is colourful and idiosyncratic. The most important guide to City architecture remains the Pevsner series; London 1: The City of London, edited by Simon Bradley and Nikolaus Pevsner (London, 1997) has brought it up to date. And then of course there is The London Encyclopaedia, edited by B. Weinreb and C. Hibbert (London, 1983), which is a prodigy of research and reference. There are also urban anthologies, among them The Oxford Book of London edited by P. Bailey (Oxford, 1995) and The Faber Book of London, edited by A.N. Wilson (London, 1993) in which appear passages of prose and verse which might otherwise have languished in obscure and forgotten places. The Pride of London, edited by W. and S. Scott (London, 1947) is also useful. An especial mention must be made of the three volumes, London 1066–1914, Literary Sources and Documents, edited by X. Baron (London, 1997). Here are Lamb and De Quincey, Engels and Dostoyevsky, Dekker and Gay, together with a hundred other observers and chroniclers of the city; these volumes are an important and indeed indispensable guide to London through the centuries.

  I have devoted some space in this biography to the observations of foreign travellers, some of which are derived from secondary sources. Since it would be laborious and otiose to keep on creating footnotes for the same material, I include it here. There are the three volumes, London 1066–1914, which have already been mentioned. Together with these come England as Seen by Foreigners edited by J.W.B. Rye (London, 1865), Strange Island: Britain Seen through Foreign Eyes, 1395–1940, edited by F.M. Wilson (London, 1955), Mine Host London by W. Kent (London, 1948), As The Foreigners Saw Us by M. Letts (London, 1935) and Coming to London by various hands (London, 1957). English Interludes by C. Mackworth (London, 1956) is primarily concerned with the residence of nineteenth-century French poets in London, and can be compared with Voltaire: Letters Concerning the English Nation, edited by N. Cronk (Oxford, 1994). There is Tolstoy in London by V. Lucas (London, 1979), Monet in London by G. Sieberling (Seattle, 1988), Berlioz in London by A.W. Gaaz (London, 1950), Arthur Rimbaud by E. Starkie (London, 1938), Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Winter Notes on Summer Impressions translated by R.L. Renfield (London, 1985), The Life of Olaudah Equino (New York, 1971), A Japanese Artist in London by Yoshio Markino (London, 1911), The Letters of Henry James, edited by L. Edel (London, 1987) and Revolutionists in London by J.W. Hulse (Oxford, 1970). The memoirs of earlier travellers are collected in The Diary of Baron Waldstein translated and edited by G.W. Groos (London, 1981), The Journals of Two Travellers in Elizabethan and Early Stuart England edited by P. Razzell (London, 1995), A Tour of London by P.J. Grosley (Dublin, 1772), German Travellers in England 1400–1800 by W.D. Robson-Scott (Oxford, 1953), London in 1710 from the Travels of Zacharias Conrad von Uffenbach, edited by W.H. Quarrell and M. Mare (London, 1934), A Foreign View of England in the Reigns of George I and George II: The Letters of Cesar De Saussure, edited by Madame van Muyden (London, 1902). So is unrolled a wealth of comment.

  On London paganism, the most important study is Magic in Modern London by E. Lovett (Croydon, 1925).

  On matters of sound and silence there is nothing more appropriate or interesting than the arresting The Acoustic World of Early Modern England by B.R. Smith (Chicago, 1999).

  On the question of maps and general topographical matters there are The Times London History Atlas edited by H. Clout (London, 1991) and The History of London in Maps by F. Barker and P. Jackson (London, 1990). There is also a wonderful series of old maps, published in association with the London Topographical Society and the Guildhall Library, under the general rubric of “A to Z” of Elizabethan, Restoration, Georgian, Regency and Victorian Londons.

  There are several studies on the Cockney dialect; London’s Dialect by M. Macbride (London, 1910), W. Matthews’s Cockney Past and Present (London, 1938), Cockney Phonology by E. Sivertsen (Oslo, 1960) and, most importantly, P. Wright’s Cockney Dialect and Slang (London, 1981).

  The history of St. Giles is revealed in St. Giles-in-the-fields by L.C. Loveless (London, 1931) and Some Accounts of the Hospital and Parish of St. Giles-in-the-fields by J. Parton (London, 1822). Volume III of the Survey of London on that district (London, 1912) was also important.

  On other penal and criminal matters there are many volumes. Those consulted include The Beggars’ Brotherhood by R. Fuller (London, 1936), Crime within The Square Mile and The Triple Tree by D. Rumbelow (London, 1971 and 1982), The Underworld by D. Campbell (London, 1994), Body Snatchers by M. Fido (London, 1980), and Crime in England 1550–1800 edited by J.S. Cockburn (Princeton, 1977). On London prisons, and on Newgate in particular, there are several important works. The English Bastille by A. Babbington (London, 1971) is the most recent, but London Prisons Today and Yesterday by A. Crew (London, 1933) and The London Prisons by H. Dixon (London, 1850) are valuable. The Chronicles of Newgate by A. Griffiths (London, 1884) and The Newgate Calendar edited by N. Birkett (London, 1951) are of course necessary records.

  For horrible murders M. Fido’s Murder Guide to London (London, 1986) is a handy Baedeker which sh
ould be consulted beside The Murder Club Guide to London edited by B. Lane (London, 1988). Jack the Ripper: A Summing Up and Verdict by C. Wilson and R. Odell (London, 1987) is a convenient summary of that bizarre history. P. Haining’s The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring-Heeled Jack (London, 1977) is, as might be expected, the definitive account.

  On the food of London, G. Dodd’s The Food of London (London, 1856) is enough, at least when combined with nineteenth- and twentieth-century memoirs.

  On questions of refuse and sanitation the most authoritative modern study is The Great Stink of London by S. Halliday (London, 1999). Other works consulted have been Garbage in the Cities by M.V. Melosi (Texas, 1941), J.L. Horan’s The Porcelain God: A Social History of the Toilet (London, 1996) and The Disposal of Refuse from the City of London by G.L. Sutcliffe (London, 1898). H. Jephson’s The Sanitary Evolution of London (London, 1907) is equally self-explanatory.

  On the Great Fire and accompanying fires, A. Hardwick’s Memorable Fires in London (London, 1926) is informative, while W.G. Bell’s The Great Fire of London (London, 1923) is an accurate account. G. Milne’s The Great Fire of London (London, 1986) is the most recent, however, and the most authoritative. London in Flames, London in Glory edited by R.A. Aubin (New Brunswick, 1943) is a very interesting anthology. Another important study is Courage High: A History of Fire Fighting in London by S. Holloway (London, 1992).

  On Fetter Lane I have consulted The Parish of St. Andrew, Holborn, by C.M. Barron (London, 1974) as well as the many references in other biographical and historical works.

  For the birds and bees of the city my principal sources have been London’s Natural History by R.S.R. Fitter (London, 1945), The Natural History of the City by R.S.R. Fitter and J.F. Lousley (London, 1953), Bird Watching in London by E.M. Nicholson (London, 1995), London Green by N. Braybrooke (London, 1959), Birds in London by W.H. Hudson (London, 1924), London Birds and Beasts by J.T. Tristram-Valentine (London, 1895) and Familiar London Birds by F. Finn (London, 1923).

  On the weather of London, the most significant account is contained in The Big Smoke: A History of Air Pollution in London by P. Brimblecombe (London, 1987) while London’s Hurricane by M. Davison and I. Currie (Tonbridge, 1989) blew some fresh air into the subject.

  The nature and history of Clerkenwell are covered in several volumes, the most important being The History of Clerkenwell by H.J. Pinks (London, 1865). J. Adlard’s In Sweet St. James’s Clerkenwell (London, 1984) can be recommended, together with Islington by C. Harris (London, 1974) and Smithfield Past and Present by A. Forshaw and T. Bergstrom (London, 1980).

  For all subterranean contemplations I owe a debt to London Under London by R. Trench and E. Hillman (London, 1985), Buried London by W.T. Hill (London, 1955) and The Lost Rivers of London by N. Barton (London, 1962).

  On the madness of London it is worth consulting M. Byrd’s Visits to Bedlam (Columbia, 1974) and R. Reed’s Bedlam on the Jacobean Stage (Cambridge, 1952); the most significant work, however, is D. Russell’s Scenes From Bedlam (London, 1997).

  On the subject of children there are all the volumes composed by I. and P. Opie, particularly The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (Oxford, 1959) and Children’s Games in Streets and Playgrounds (Oxford, 1969). Other sources include London Street Games by N. Douglas (London, 1931), The Young Londoner Through the Ages by D.M. Stuart (London, 1962), Children’s Literature: An Illustrated History edited by P. Hunt (Oxford, 1995), The London Child by E. Sharp (London, 1927), and The Cries of Banbury and London by J. Rusher (London, 1820). Growing Up in London by M. Chamberlain (London, 1989) is a wonderful memoir, while no account of London childhood would be complete without mentioning the important work of G. Speaight. I have made particular use of his The History of the English Puppet Theatre (London, 1955), The History of the English Toy Theatre (London, 1946) and A History of the Circus (London, 1980).

  On graffiti three works, as well as the walls of London, have been scrutinised: Graffiti by R.G. Freeman (London, 1966), The Handwriting on the Wall by E. Abel and B. Buckley (London, 1977) and the extraordinary The Merry Thought or the Glass Window and Bog House Miscellany by Hurlo Thrumbo (London, 1732).

  On immigration I have consulted I. MCauley’s Guide to Ethnic London (London, 1993), Indians in Britain 1700–1947 by R. Viscram (London, 1986), Exiles of Erin by L.H. Lees (Manchester, 1979) and Windrush by M. and T. Phillips (London, 1999).

  For my chapter on the suburbs I am indebted to London Suburbs, with an introduction by A. Saint (London, 1999), Semi-Detached London by A.A. Jackson (London, 1973), London in the Country by G.R. Williams (London, 1975) and Something in Linoleum by P. Vaughan (London, 1994).

  For my chapter on the Second World War I am indebted to London at War by P. Ziegler (London, 1995), The Lost Treasures of London by W. Kent (London, 1947) and History Under Fire by J. Pope-Hennessy (London, 1941).

  On the subject of illustrations, I would like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Richard Shone. On illustrative, and general editorial matters I am indebted to Penelope Hoare and Stuart Williams.

  FIRST ANCHOR BOOKS EDITION, APRIL 2003

  Copyright © 2000 by Peter Ackroyd

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American

  Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Anchor Books,

  a division of Random House, Inc., New York. Originally published in hardcover

  in the United Kingdom by Chatto & Windus, London, in 2000, and subsequently in

  hardcover in the United States by Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.,

  New York, in 2001.

  Anchor Books and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the Doubleday edition as follows:

  Ackroyd, Peter, 1949–

  London : the biography / Peter Ackroyd.—1st ed.

  p. cm.

  1. London (England)—Description and travel. 2. London (England)—

  Social life and customs. I. Title.

  DA684.25 .A28 2001

  942.1—dc21

  2001027153

  eISBN: 978-1-4000-7551-5

  Author photograph © Roderick Field

  www.anchorbooks.com

  v3.0