Book
The Victorian city : everyday life in Dickens' London
Edition
First U.S. edition.
Publication Information
New York, N.Y. : Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press, 2014.
Physical Description
xxiii, 520 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : color illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
Summary
"From the critically acclaimed author of The Invention of Murder, an extraordinary, revelatory portrait of everyday life on the streets of Dickens' London.The nineteenth century was a time of unprecedented change, and nowhere was this more apparent than London. In only a few decades, the capital grew from a compact Regency town into a sprawling metropolis of 6.5 million inhabitants, the largest city the world had ever seen. Technology--railways, street-lighting, and sewers--transformed both the city and the experience of city-living, as London expanded in every direction. Now Judith Flanders, one of Britain's foremost social historians, explores the world portrayed so vividly in Dickens' novels, showing life on the streets of London in colorful, fascinating detail.From the moment Charles Dickens, the century's best-loved English novelist and London's greatest observer, arrived in the city in 1822, he obsessively walked its streets, recording its pleasures, curiosities and cruelties. Now, with him, Judith Flanders leads us through the markets, transport systems, sewers, rivers, slums, alleys, cemeteries, gin palaces, chop-houses and entertainment emporia of Dickens' London, to reveal the Victorian capital in all its variety, vibrancy, and squalor. From the colorful cries of street-sellers to the uncomfortable reality of travel by omnibus, to the many uses for the body parts of dead horses and the unimaginably grueling working days of hawker children, no detail is too small, or too strange. No one who reads Judith Flanders's meticulously researched, captivatingly written The Victorian City will ever view London in the same light again. "--
"Expert Victorian-era historian Judith Flanders explores the world portrayed so vividly in Dicken's novels, bringing life on the streets of London to vivid, fascinating life. The nineteenth century was a time of unprecedented transformation, and nowhere was this more apparent than London. In only a few decades, the capitol grew from a Regency town to the biggest city the world had ever seen, with more than 6.5 million people and railways, street-lighting and new buildings at every turn. From the moment Charles Dickens, the century's best-loved novelist and London's greatest observer, arrived in the city in 1822, he obsessively walked its streets, recording its pleasures, curiosities and cruelties. Now, with him, Judith Flanders leads us through the markets, transport systems, sewers, rivers, slums, alleys, cemeteries, gin palaces, chop-houses and entertainment emporia of Dickens' London, to reveal the Victorian capital in all its variety, vibrancy, and squalor. From the colorful cries of street-sellers to the uncomfortable reality of travel by omnibus, to the many uses for the body parts of dead horses or the unimaginably grueling working days of hawker children, no detail is too small, or too strange. No one who reads Judith Flanders's meticulously researched, captivatingly written The Victorian City will view London in the same light again"--
Notes
Previously published: London : Atlantic Books, 2012.
Contents
- The city wakes. 1810 : The Berners Street Hoax ; Early to rise ; On the road ; Travelling (mostly) hopefully ; In and out of London
- Staying alive. 1861 : The Tooley Street Fire ; The world's market ; Selling the streets ; Slumming ; The waters of death
- Enjoying life. 1867 : The Regent's Park Skating Disaster ; Street performance ; Leisure for all ; Feeding the streets ; Street theatre
- Sleeping and awake. 1852 : The funeral of the Duke of Wellington ; Night entertainment ; Street violence ; The red-lit streets to death
- Dickens' publications.