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`I'll confess straight away, I'm a fan of David Long's books. He makes historical information accessible and entertaining to read...his knowledge is superb.' --GoLondon.com, April 2011
Product Description
'Sir, if you wish to have a just notion of the magnitude of this city, you must not be satisfied with seeing its great streets and squares, but must survey its innumerable little lanes and courts.' Such was Samuel Johnson's advice to his companion Boswell, and more than two centuries later his advice is still just as valid. To a great degree the real London - the fascination of extraordinary goings-on during its long history, of famous Londoners past and present, and of some of its finest and most diverse architectural treasures - is often to be found not in its more famous streets and squares but in the small and obscure places which so many of us simply miss. David Long uncovers these forgotten locations and brings to life their fascinating history in his own inimitable style.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Wonderfull book,spoilt by the author not clearly marking the photographs.
One is left wondering which photo relates to which article.Great pity.Hidden City: The Secret Alleys, Courts and Yards of London's Square Mile
One is left wondering which photo relates to which article.Great pity.Hidden City: The Secret Alleys, Courts and Yards of London's Square Mile
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Written very much in the same entertaining but informative style of the author's SPECTACULAR VERNACULAR and TUNNELS, TOWERS AND TEMPLES, David Long this time limits his focus to London's historic centre, exploring and photographing the literally hundreds of tiny alleyways and passages which still criss-cross the square mile centuries after the streets were first laid out. Like the previous two the result is engaging, readable, hugely well-informed, and along the way Long finds so much to detain the walker/reader - from Wren churches and ruins to atmospheric Victorian pubs, from secret gardens to some really strange survivors of a London which has otherwise been lost, and more fascinating relics of Victorian, Georgian, Medieval and even Roman London than you would believe could have survived. Now the good weather's here I'm definitely going to spend a few weekends tracking down the lot.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
As noted elsewhere the pictures are not of a high standard, but think of them just as something to bring a bit of flavour to the text. This is not a picture book.
Also a book that gives the appearance of being full of facts reads more comfortably when there aren't errors jumping off the page so repeating the outdated assertion that there are no "Roads" in the City of London (part of Goswell Road has been in it since the 1994 boundary change) and not being able to tell the difference between granite setts and cobbles make one wary.
Given the title it is odd that there are also excursions into the Boroughs of Islington, Southwark, Camden, and Tower Hamlets
But this is all trivial - here is a book that lists a considerable number of obscure alleys tucked away in the City and has a good deal of interest to say about them. As such it is a very different addition for a London book collection, and is useful when planning off-the-beaten-track walks. A good test for maps too! - I needed my 9" to the mile A-Z Super Scale to track some of these down. Online, Bing Maps does well in locating most of them.
Also a book that gives the appearance of being full of facts reads more comfortably when there aren't errors jumping off the page so repeating the outdated assertion that there are no "Roads" in the City of London (part of Goswell Road has been in it since the 1994 boundary change) and not being able to tell the difference between granite setts and cobbles make one wary.
Given the title it is odd that there are also excursions into the Boroughs of Islington, Southwark, Camden, and Tower Hamlets
But this is all trivial - here is a book that lists a considerable number of obscure alleys tucked away in the City and has a good deal of interest to say about them. As such it is a very different addition for a London book collection, and is useful when planning off-the-beaten-track walks. A good test for maps too! - I needed my 9" to the mile A-Z Super Scale to track some of these down. Online, Bing Maps does well in locating most of them.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
No colour
Arranged in alphabetical order. So you can't meander from passage to square and on. I can't wait for Google street view to add London's hidden ways.
Published 26 days ago by flashgordonnz
Hidden City among other things
I was fascinated by the descriptions of all the hidden yards, alleys, courtyards etc
that the author lays out for us, and have resolved to track them all down one day -... Read more
that the author lays out for us, and have resolved to track them all down one day -... Read more
Published 5 months ago by bobbycow
So Interesting
I am really enjoying reading this informative book. Some of the comments by the author are very ammusing. On my next visit to London I intend visiting parts of the "Hidden City". Read more
Published 9 months ago by June
Uncovering hidden corners
There's so much to learn from this book, which deals not with the famous spots in the City of London, but those out-of-the-way yards and alleys which also have a fascinating... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mapp
Interesting book let down by photos
This is a very nice book with some great detail and the text is excellent. What the book really needs is a photo editor. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Warwick Holt
Hidden City
Since being an ex pat I found this book absorbing and interesting . However the lack of colour pictures in the entire book - leave me a little lost !
Published 12 months ago by Howard E. Laycock
Listmania!
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