London A Cultural History

by Tames, Richard

• ISBN13: 9780195309546
• ISBN10: 0195309545
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-09-28
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Richard Tames describes how London has been chronicled, described, celebrated, named, and mapped over the twenty centuries of its existence to become a city treasured even by those who have never set foot in it as a byword for innovation and diversity. This book has been written for those who, knowing London, know that it is too vast, too complex, too elusive ever to be fully known but yet would like to know it better still.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. v
Introduction	p. xiii
City of Superlatives	p. xiii
Magnet for Talent	p. xiv
Gifts to the World	p. xv
What London Isn't	p. xv
Capital Progress	p. xvi
"Anglobalization"	p. xviii
What London Has	p. xxi
Essential London?	p. xxi
Past into Future	p. xxiii
Sights and Sites: Iconic London	p. 1
Westminster Abbey	p. 2
The Houses of Parliament	p. 5
Tower of London	p. 6
The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew	p. 7
Maritime Greenwich	p. 8
Places to Ponder	p. 10
Top Twelve	p. 12
Of Bards and Business: A Poetic Interlude	p. 14
Chelsea	p. 18
London Described	p. 21
The Chroniclers	p. 21
The Guides	p. 24
Dickens' London	p. 25
Trollope: "The Supreme of Power"	p. 28
Gissing: Grub Street	p. 29
Cunningham's Handbook of London	p. 30
Mayhew: Categorizing the Capital	p. 31
In Darkest London	p. 32
Inter-War Issues	p. 38
Peripheral Vision	p. 41
Of Diaries and Letters: A Handwritten Interlude	p. 43
Dulwich	p. 50
London Named	p. 53
The Lie of the Land	p. 5
The Arrival of the English	p. 56
The World of Work	p. 57
The Shadow of the Cross	p. 58
Landlords and Builders	p. 60
Suburban Sprawl	p. 62
In Memoriam	p. 63
Echoes of Empire	p. 66
Imprint of History	p. 66
Literature and Learning	p. 67
Icons	p. 68
Puzzles, Jokes and Enigmas	p. 69
Hotels and Hospitality: An Accommodating Interlude	p. 70
Hampstead	p. 76
London Mapped	p. 79
Knowledge is Power	p. 79
Continental Connections	p. 80
Bird's-Eye View	p. 81
Before and After	p. 83
Social Survey	p. 85
Milestone in Mapping	p. 86
Analytical Approaches	p. 86
Going Into Detail	p. 88
Cartographic Conservation	p. 89
Gold Standard	p. 89
Crusading Cartography	p. 90
Cartography and Communication	p. 91
Mapping the Suburbs	p. 93
Design Classics	p. 93
Target for Tonight	p. 94
New Jerusalem	p. 95
Markets, Shops and Stores: A Retail Interlude	p. 96
The Isle of Dogs	p. 103
Intellectual Capital	p. 105
The Perils of Power	p. 106
Arenas of Ideas	p. 107
Critics and Critiques	p. 110
Learning for All	p. 112
A University for London	p. 114
"Bloomsbury"	p. 115
Creative Industries	p. 118
Novel Encounters: A Fictional Interlude	p. 119
Islington	p. 130
The Blasts of War	p. 133
Legionary London	p. 134
Castles and Crusaders	p. 136
Manufacture and Militia	p. 137
Parliament's Powerhouse	p. 138
The Second Hundred Years War	p. 140
Revolution and Counter-Revolution	p. 141
Pax Britannica	p. 143
Great War	p. 144
People's War	p. 146
The Savage Wars of Peace	p. 152
Of Quacks and Cures: A Medical Interlude	p. 155
Mayfair	p. 162
Sporting London	p. 165
Masters of Arms	p. 166
Theatre of Cruelty	p. 167
Thrill of the Chase	p. 169
Sport of Kings	p. 170
The Noble Art?	p. 170
The Beautiful Game	p. 172
Swing, Swing Together	p. 175
Essence of Englishness	p. 176
Outclassed	p. 177
Further, Higher, Faster	p. 180
A Golden Age	p. 181
The 1948 Olympics	p. 182
Extra Time	p. 183
Of Babel: A Linguistic Interlude	p. 185
Notting Hill	p. 190
Victorian Valhallas: The Magnificent Seven	p. 193
Necropolis Needed	p. 193
Highgate	p. 197
Brompton: From the Ends of the Earth	p. 199
Earthly Powers	p. 200
"The Greatest Doctor of All Time"	p. 201
Final Curtain	p. 203
Confined to Barracks	p. 204
Name Games	p. 205
Eye-Catchers	p. 206
Last Innings	p. 207
Nicked!: A Criminal Interlude	p. 208
Soho	p. 214
At Home	p. 217
Georgian	p. 217
Regency	p. 221
Victorian	p. 222
Moderne	p. 228
Dessert	p. 230
Made in London: An American Interlude	p. 231
Southwark	p. 238
Most of London: The Suburbs	p. 241
The Battle for Style	p. 245
Commuting and Community	p. 247
Bedford Park	p. 248
Hampstead Garden Suburb	p. 251
Homes for Heroes	p. 252
Metro-Land	p. 254
This Happy Breed	p. 255
Sticks or Bricks?	p. 255
The Suburb as City	p. 257
Of Pints and Pubs: A Convivial Interlude	p. 260
Spitalfields	p. 266
Further Reading	p. 269
Index of Literary & Historical Names	p. 275
Index of Places & Landmarks	p. 281
Maps
London	p. xxv
Central London	p. xxvi
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