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The Town Below the Ground: Edinburgh's Legendary Underground City
 
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The Town Below the Ground: Edinburgh's Legendary Underground City (Paperback)

by Jan-Andrew Henderson (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Frequently Bought Together

The Town Below the Ground: Edinburgh's Legendary Underground City + Edinburgh: City of the Dead + Ghostly Tales and Sinister Stories of Old Edinburgh
Price For All Three: £17.87

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Product details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Mainstream Publishing (16 Sep 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1840182318
  • ISBN-13: 978-1840182316
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 1.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 15,288 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #4 in  Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Scotland
    #5 in  Books > Travel & Holiday > Countries & Regions > United Kingdom > Regions > Scotland > Edinburgh
    #5 in  Books > Reference > Atlases & Maps > Cities A-Z > Edinburgh

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Product Description

Product Description
Below Scotland's capital, hidden for almost two centuries, is a metropolis whose very existence was all but forgotten. For almost 250 years, Edinburgh was surrounded by a giant defensive wall. Unable to expand the city's boundaries, the burgeoning population built over every inch of square space. And when there was no more room, they began to dig down ...Trapped in lives of poverty and crime, these subterranean dwellers existed in darkness and misery, ignored by the chroniclers of their time. It is only in the last few years that the shocking truth has begun to emerge about the sinister underground city.

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Town Below the Ground: Edinburgh's Legendary Underground City
73% buy the item featured on this page:
The Town Below the Ground: Edinburgh's Legendary Underground City 4.2 out of 5 stars (13)
£5.99
Ghostly Tales and Sinister Stories of Old Edinburgh
8% buy
Ghostly Tales and Sinister Stories of Old Edinburgh 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£5.39
The Ghost That Haunted Itself: The Story of the McKenzie Poltergeist
7% buy
The Ghost That Haunted Itself: The Story of the McKenzie Poltergeist 4.3 out of 5 stars (18)
£5.24
Edinburgh: A History of the City
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Edinburgh: A History of the City
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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
59 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars A Big Disappointment, 18 Dec 2000
By G. ADAIR - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
If you've read the other reviews on this page you'll see a pattern emerging: those readers who don't come from Edinburgh found the book entertaining, but those who do found it disappointing, and I must add my name to the latter category.

As a lifelong Edinburgh resident I've heard stories of the underground city all my life, and the emergence of this book offered the promise of a full and final explanation of what's really there and what isn't. However, aside from a reasonably interesting general history of old Edinburgh, the book is astonishingly lacking in facts of any kind. It's all conjecture, rumour and myth. At least fifty percent of the book is merely a series of fables and ghost stories with absolutely no descernable facts or evidence to either back them up or dismiss them.

If someone's going to bother writing a book on the underground city, wouldn't you expect them to have something to TELL? Not so Jan-Andrew Henderson. For him the gathering together of a few myths and legends was enough. No solid research, maps, plans or diagrams, descriptions of exactly what remains of the underground city; No reports of excavations, eyewitness accounts; no rummaging through old property plans or title deeds to discover reports of mysterious doorways in lost cellars that seem to lead nowhere. None of this.

If you're really interested in learning about the underground city you'd be better off saving your money, and instead paying a visit to one of Edinburgh's many pubs in the old town, where you'll encounter characters who can tell you much more about it than anything in this book.

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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant read!, 30 Sep 2004
By A Customer
This is a great book which has done its rounds in my household as most of my family has in interest in Old Edinburgh. I don't know about the pattern that the other rewiever mentions because I am familiar with Edinburgh and I found this book entertaining and comprehensive, and fortunately written by someone who has a deep knowledge and passion for the subject.

Part one is more historical, telling us about how and why Edinburgh is built like it is and why people were forced to live underground. It has some interesting maps and drawings of the old buildings and streets which help paint the picture of what the Old Town looked like in the 18th century. It also keeps the reader gripped (and laughing) by describing in detail why it was wise not to look up when someone shouted gardy loo from a 8 storey building! I also have to mention the brilliant chapter on the worst poet in Scotland. This had me in stitches and I had to buy McGonnagal's work after reading the bits Henderson put in.

Part 2 is why most people would buy the book-the ghost stories. There are various tales from the underground vaults. Some humerous and some strange. Like the Witches coven who had been granted permission to worship in one of the vaults but got more than they bargained for. And of course, the McKenzie Poltergeist. This book doesn't try to argue for the existance of ghosts...but it makes a damn scary read.

I topped off my reading of this book by going on a tour of old Edinburgh run by Jan-Andrew Henderson's company, Blackhart. It lived up to my expectations and is a must-do in Edinburgh. Get this book and get yerself on his tours. Brilliant!

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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Old Edinburgh, 24 Mar 2004
By Morph (Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
Brilliant book, I have lived here in Edinburgh all my life, I work in the city centre and visit the "Old Town" a lot, after reading this book I took far more of an interest in the "closes" in the High Street, if fact I was there 2 days ago in Fleshmarket Close, as I walked through the close I could picture everything that had gone on down there, the Royal Mile will never be the same to me, now my eyes have been opened.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars An interesting subject but not enough fact.
An interesting subject but no where near enough fact or research has gone in to it. It is a decent magazine article worth of material, spread into a book. Read more
Published 3 months ago by P. Carolan

5.0 out of 5 stars edinburghs lost town
This book records the facts,myths,legends and ghosts relating to the town below Edinburgh,how it developed and the atrocious conditations that existed. Read more
Published 5 months ago by G. I. Forbes

5.0 out of 5 stars Quirky, funny unusual history book
I wasn't sure what to expect but it wasn't this! A great mixture of history, tragedy and humour - telling a wonderful and little known story. Bravo.
Published on 13 Dec 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, enlightening and not remotely dry or dusty!
I wasn't quite sure what I was going to get - history or mystery - and I ended up with both. Far more entertaining than might be anticipated from a cursory glance, this is a... Read more
Published on 25 April 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read.
This book is great fun, obviously written by someone with a sense of humor and a flair for the dramatic. Often funny, sometimes spooky. A few times I even laughed out loud. Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining and informative guide book with a difference
This is a guide book to Edinburgh with a difference! It is a compelling and lively read, both entertaining and informative, a mix of fact and fiction, social history, myth,... Read more
Published on 5 Mar 2000

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointed
I was hoping for a factual historical survey; instead I get a collection of ghost stories and anecdotes a discerning 12 year old would scoff at. Read more
Published on 16 Feb 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING - SO MUCH I NEVER KNEW
This book is full of so much information, fact & fiction, about the City of Edinburgh. Fantastic -a must read for anyone who says they come from Edinburgh! Well done J-A H
Published on 4 Jan 2000 by susan.i@virgin.net

5.0 out of 5 stars Edinburgh with a completely new twist!
Having grown up a few miles east of Edinburgh and spent my formative years visiting it regularly, I thought I knew it pretty well. Read more
Published on 27 Oct 1999 by eric@williamson.net

5.0 out of 5 stars Ghostly and haunting, a great read for mystery & history!
For anyone who relishes tales of forgotten places -- especially ones with tragic and haunted connections -- this book is wonderful. Read more
Published on 14 Oct 1999

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