London in the nineteenth century was the greatest city mankind had ever seen. Its growth was stupendous. Its wealth was dazzling. Its horrors shocked the world. In one hour's walk from west to east, London revealed a cavalcade of life chances - from all the prizes that civilisation could offer on the one hand to a barbarous struggle for existence on the other. As William Blake put it, London was 'a Human awful wonder of God'. The nineteenth century was London's greatest so far. It was a century of genius - poets, novelists, journalists in the front rank, but also architects, scientists, philanthropists, and politicians too. This was the London of Blake, Thackeray and Mayhew, of Nash, Faraday, Barnardo and Disraeli. Most of all it was the London of Dickens. And it was in the nineteenth century that Londoners began to address the contradictions and extremes of metropolitan life and try to impose some order on their turbulent city. The story of London in these hectic decades must first of all uncover how far the war on disorder succeeded. And how far it failed. Jerry White's dazzling new book is the first in a hundred years to explore London's history over the nineteenth century as a whole. We see the destruction of old London and the city's unparalleled suburban expansion. We see how London absorbed people from all over Britain, from Europe and the Empire. We see how Londoners worked and played. Most of all, we see how they tried to make sense of their city and make it a better place in which to live. Emerging clearly from this eloquent and richly-detailed overview is the London we see about us today.
London In The Nineteenth Century
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Review
'Both exhaustive and detailed: both scholarly... and human...
irresistible" -- BBC History Magazine
'My Favourite Londoner' -- Time Out
'White manages to make the familiar seem entirely fresh' -- The Sunday Times
'impressively researched, wide-ranging volume' -- Sunday Telegraph
'Energy, élan and watertight scholarship go hand in hand'
-- Sunday Times
A poetic evocation -- FT
Magisterial...White's passion for his subject is evident -- Observer
Majestic study of the metropolis -- Good Book Guide
Meticulously researched and full of often engaging detail -- Guardian
`from a prize winning historian, a fresh and energetic look at a
century of frenzied growth'.
-- Sunday Times
irresistible" -- BBC History Magazine
'My Favourite Londoner' -- Time Out
'White manages to make the familiar seem entirely fresh' -- The Sunday Times
'impressively researched, wide-ranging volume' -- Sunday Telegraph
'Energy, élan and watertight scholarship go hand in hand'
-- Sunday Times
A poetic evocation -- FT
Magisterial...White's passion for his subject is evident -- Observer
Majestic study of the metropolis -- Good Book Guide
Meticulously researched and full of often engaging detail -- Guardian
`from a prize winning historian, a fresh and energetic look at a
century of frenzied growth'.
-- Sunday Times
Book Description
The first book in a hundred years to examine the greatest century in London's history.
--This text refers to the
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
265 of 273 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.
107 of 111 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.
50 of 52 people found the following review helpful
By helen
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
5.0 out of 5 stars
a good read
a very well written book that makes an enjoyable read
of course you will want to read the other two of the trilogy
of course you will want to read the other two of the trilogy
Published 5 months ago by terry s
5.0 out of 5 stars
As if you were there...
An excellent account of 19th Century London, its people and its development. Jerry White's writing draws you into the book and actually makes the reader feel as if they are... Read more
Published 5 months ago by gingerjasper
5.0 out of 5 stars
Huge....
I am so impressed by Jerry White's totally absorbing, accessable and fascinating history of 19thC London, how it worked and lived, how it developed, it's laws and lawlessness,... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Ellie Reader
4.0 out of 5 stars
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 12 months ago by ALAN
4.0 out of 5 stars
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 18 months ago by Giovanni Antonioni
5.0 out of 5 stars
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 on 20 April 2011 by Tina Wootton Dunford
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful
This book was magic. The descriptions of London in the 19th century because of the research is outstanding. Read more
Published on 11 Feb 2011 by Mike Hewitt
5.0 out of 5 stars
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 on 10 Jan 2011 by Mrs. R. A. Hewlett
3.0 out of 5 stars
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 on 16 Nov 2010 by Dr. R. Brandon
5.0 out of 5 stars
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 on 2 Aug 2010 by C. Jenner
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