London in the nineteenth century was the greatest city mankind had ever seen. Its wealth was dazzling. Its horrors shocked the world. As William Blake put it, London was 'a Human awful wonder of God'. It was a century of genius - of Blake, Thackeray and Mayhew, of Nash, Faraday, Disraeli and Dickens. Jerry White's dazzling 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.

The first book in a hundred years to examine the greatest century in London's history.

About the Author
Professor Jerry White teaches London history at Birkbeck, University of London. He is the author of an acclaimed trilogy of London from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. His more recent books include Mansions of Misery: A Biography of the Marshalsea Debtors' Prison and Zeppelin Nights, a social history of London during the First World War. He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Literature by the University of London in 2005 and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Reviews
"A dazzling and dramatic narrative of a century of high-speed change ... A must-have for anyone seriously interested in London's history" * Evening Standard *
"Magisterial" * Observer *
"Magnificent ... Charged with infectious enthusiasm for its subject, this is an unmissable treat which ought to be top of every Londoner's reading list" * Time Out *
"A brilliant account of the bursting, overflowing city, with its glittering wealth and harrowing poverty" * Financial Times *
"Jerry White is to London as Boswell is to Johnson... London in the Nineteenth Century should sit on your shelf alongside Debrett's, the Oxford dictionary, and your complete set of Dickens" * Daily Telegraph *
"White brings to his book a diligence and contagious zest that may serve to discourage anyone from ever tackling the subject again" * Sunday Times *
"Fascinating ... irresistible" -- Liza Picard * BBC History Magazine *



Book Information
ISBN 9780712600309
Author Jerry White
Format Paperback
Page Count 640
Imprint Vintage
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 543g