|
15 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Mrs P did not create London's first A to Z atlas., 27 Jun 2001
By A Customer
...Phyllis Pearsall did not produce London's first A to Z. She produced the first atlas of London to be called an A to Z. Slightly different. She did not tramp the streets mapping every road in London. This task had already been done by several others, including Bartholomews and Philip. She added some street numbers - very useful, but not quite as sensational. Curiously, in her autobiography, 'From Bedsitter to Household Name', Pearsall steers clear of claiming to have produced the first London pocket atlas. In fact, she even alludes to the 'competition'. Perhaps she was bothered about law-suits which might have followed such a claim. Anyway, Ms Hartley has, in a strange version of Chinese Whispers, taken Pearsall's odd, badly written autobiography, uncritically believed everything it claimed, added some points which it DIDN'T claim, and on such poor foundations has built a very wobbly building. Once you accept that Pearsall did not produce London's first A to Z, then the whole house of (index) cards comes tumbling down...
|