Londinopolis: Essays in the Cultural and Social History of Early Modern London C.1500-c.1750 (Politics & Culture in Early Modern Britain) (Politics, Culture & Society in Early Modern Britain) [Paperback]

This volume is divided into four major sections: Polis and Police; Gender and Sexuality; Senses of Space and Place; and finally, Material Culture and Consumption. Each section has three essays, save the final section, which has two. Editors Mark Jenner and Paul Griffiths collaborated for the introduction - they took the title 'Londonopolis' for this collection from a 1657 book by James Howell on London, who remarked on the lack of new writing about London back then. As Jenner and Griffiths point out regarding the particular period of this text, the growth of London during this time is what set the stage for this becoming a world capital. In 1500, London has a population of 50,000; by 1750, it was more than 13 times this amount, with 675,000. While the overall growth during Victorian times was greater numerically, in terms of proportionate growth, the early modern period is far more dramatic.

The first section on Polis and Police, with essays by Ian Archer, Michael Berlin, and Tim Wales, covers issues of crime and punishment, parish-based life, and politics and the populous at the time. This was a time of little suffrage and civil rights, and yet the sheer numbers of people, with the traditional freedom of the City of London from certain royal and governmental oversight, made for an interesting time. The section on Gender and Sexuality, including essays by Faramerz Dabhoiwala, Margaret Hunt, and Laura Growing, look at issues of what constituted sexual immorality, and the place of women, married and single, in the overall society. The third section, Senses of Space and Place, with essays by Margaret Pelling, co-editor Paul Griffiths and Jeremy Boulton, address concerns of city growth and planning (or lack thereof) in two particular instances, Cheapside in the early 1600s and the West End through the 1600s into the 1700s, as well as the general impact of city growth and social change from different sides, including poverty and disease. The final section on Material Culture and Consumption, with essays by Sara Pennell and co-editor Mark Jenner, look at some particular facets - food supply and water supply - that have been of concern to cities (and been factors in growth, or lack thereof, of cities) throughout history.

There is a good index at the conclusion of the book, and good notes at the end of each chapter. The one thing missing here is a comprehensive bibliography - for example, one can find out about recent histories of London from footnote number three in the introduction, but a bibliography or list of selected readings would make this information more readily accessible. Also, there are useful charts and tables, but where are the maps? Certainly a book about the growth of London should have a few maps? These are minor flaws in an otherwise very good collection of essays.

There is so much of interest here! From what menus consisted of in London 'back then' to the way the people interacted with each other in patterns that persist in certain ways to this day, this book provides a series of snapshots of life and society in a city growing toward becoming a world capital, all while trying to maintain itself in a careful balance of people, resources, and cultures. For any scholar or interested reader on London history, this book is a treat.