London In The Nineteenth Century
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Product Description
Guardian
`powerful and overwhelming'
Contemporary Review
`...in its many vivid aspects this excellent work which combines thorough research with a capacity not to loose the reader'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
258 of 265 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
What a book! I don't read much history, so I was not thrilled when a friend gave me London in the Nineteenth Century as a present. I confess I had never heard of Jerry White. I dipped into it for form's sake one Friday evening, and ended up locking myself away for the rest of the weekend until I had read all 600-odd pages. Generally, reading history feels like work: not in this case. It is written with an obvious passion for its subject, and crammed with nuggets you want to read aloud to someone. It's completely free of the pompousness I associate with academic historians, and I developed a real liking for the author. He doesn't impose his intellect and learning on you, but shares it with you, so that you can't help catching his enthusiasm. It seems fluent and effortless, despite the compendious knowledge and research that went into it. The sources (all meticulously referenced) are innumerable - it's when you dip into the index and footnotes that you really begin to realise what a feat of learning this is. I can't begin to pick out favourite bits: there are too many. But where I really got hooked was in the second part, "People". At that point, it came fully alive for me. The book has a democratic feel, because so much of the material relates to the common people. Throughout the remaining chapters on "Work", "Culture" (with a fascinating study of shared and private pleasures), and "Law and Order", it read as easily and engagingly as a novel.
As soon as I finished this I had to find myself a copy of the same author's "London in the Twentieth Century" - which, scandalously, is out of print! I eventually tracked it down on the internet, and found to my delight it is every bit as good. I can only hope he will tackle another century or two.
As soon as I finished this I had to find myself a copy of the same author's "London in the Twentieth Century" - which, scandalously, is out of print! I eventually tracked it down on the internet, and found to my delight it is every bit as good. I can only hope he will tackle another century or two.
105 of 109 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The breadth of this book would be astonishing enough if it wasn't also for it's coherent structure and - most importantly - lively writing. Mr White knows his subject, but he doesn't lose his thread beneath a mountain of statistics or (Peter Ackroyd take note) lose himself in flights of fancy. He brilliantly portrays, above all, the human drama which makes this such an exciting - and unique - period of history.
48 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is both informative and entertaining. What I find particularly fascinating are the various similarities to own period. Problems such as overcrowding, street crime - even the fact that statistically at least, crime figures fell during the course of the century, but people "felt" surrounded by it - seems to be remarkably familiar. I for one have to confess to a much more "cosy" image of the Victorian period (probably fuelled by too many middle-class novels and an "Upstairs Downstairs"-type of preconception. So it was most educational to be told how things really were.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
London in the Nineteenth Century: 'A Human Awful Wonder of God'
I had my doubts about this book at first because I immediately came across familiar material (probably because I have read many books on this subject), however my doubts were... Read more
Published 1 month ago by ALAN
Astoundingly comprehensive
Having lived in London all my life, this book looked like a very interesting purchase. It is a staggering achievement with a huge amount of information, mostly presented in a... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Giovanni Antonioni
A Joy of a book.
What a wonderful book!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just couldn't stop reading it. There were so many details, names, events and places that I had heard my father talk about and that had to do... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Tina Wootton Dunford
Wonderful
This book was magic. The descriptions of London in the 19th century because of the research is outstanding. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mike Hewitt
Looked OK
I bought this for a present for someone who's keen on Victorian things and has links with London in the past. It looked Ok to me but I haven't actually read it.
Published 16 months ago by Mrs. R. A. Hewlett
A Book With Promise That Fails to Interest.
It is with some regret that I have rated this book as mediocre, for it is well produced and nicely presented. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Dr. R. Brandon
Brilliant book for historical and London information
this book is really good, you can feel the places he is talking about, see how the city changed but also its affects on the inhabitants and the way the inhabitants changed the... Read more
Published 22 months ago by C. Jenner
Magisterial Page-turner
K.S. William's has said it all about Jerry White's book. Touching upon every aspect of the development, structure and life of the city - the physical development and redevelopment... Read more
Published on 17 Oct 2009 by Howard Somerville
What a Find
Having decided to take a break from my Family Tree compilation, in favour of getting to know the relatives. This book has raised my consciousness to how my forebears developed. Read more
Published on 9 May 2009 by Glyn White
Absolutely fascinating
It helps if you're familiar with London, or parts of London (as another reviewer has noted, there aren't many maps involved although there are small area maps at the start of each... Read more
Published on 14 April 2009 by J. Brooke
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