Peter Ackroyd - London - The Biography

The history of St. Giles is revealed in St. Giles-in-the-fields by L.C. Loveless (London, 1931) and Some Accounts of the Hospital and Parish of St. Giles-in-the-fields by J. Parton (London, 1822). Volume III of the Survey of London on that district (London, 1912) was also important.

On other penal and criminal matters there are many volumes. Those consulted include The Beggars’ Brotherhood by R. Fuller (London, 1936), Crime within The Square Mile and The Triple Tree by D. Rumbelow (London, 1971 and 1982), The Underworld by D. Campbell (London, 1994), Body Snatchers by M. Fido (London, 1980), and Crime in England 1550-1800 edited by J.S. Cockburn (Princeton, 1977). On London prisons, and on Newgate in particular, there are several important works. The English Bastille by A. Babbington (London, 1971) is the most recent, but London Prisons Today and Yesterday by A. Crew (London, 1933) and The London Prisons by H. Dixon (London, 1850) are valuable. The Chronicles of Newgate by A. Griffiths (London, 1884) and The Newgate Calendar edited by N. Birkett (London, 1951) are of course necessary records.

For horrible murders M. Fido’s Murder Guide to London (London, 1986) is a handy Baedeker which should be consulted beside The Murder Club Guide to London edited by B. Lane (London, 1988). Jack the Ripper: A Summing Up and Verdict by C. Wilson and R. Odell (London, 1987) is a convenient summary of that bizarre history. P. Haining’s The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring-Heeled Jack (London, 1977) is, as might be expected, the definitive account.

On the food of London, G. Dodd’s The Food of London (London, 1856) is enough, at least when combined with nineteenth-and twentieth-century memoirs.

On questions of refuse and sanitation the most authoritative modern study is The Great Stink of London by S. Halliday (London, 1999). Other works consulted have been Garbage in the Cities by M.V. Melosi (Texas, 1941), J.L. Horan’s The Porcelain God: A Social History of the Toilet (London, 1996) and The Disposal of Refuse from the City of London by G.L. Sutcliffe (London, 1898). H. Jephson’s The Sanitary Evolution of London (London, 1907) is equally self-explanatory.

On the Great Fire and accompanying fires, A. Hardwick’s Memorable Fires in London (London, 1926) is informative, while W.G. Bell’s The Great Fire of London (London, 1923) is an accurate account. G. Milne’s The Great Fire of London (London, 1986) is the most recent, however, and the most authoritative. London in Flames, London in Glory edited by R.A. Aubin (New Brunswick, 1943) is a very interesting anthology. Another important study is Courage High: A History of Fire Fighting in London by S. Holloway (London, 1992).

On Fetter Lane I have consulted The Parish of St. Andrew, Holborn , by C.M. Barron (London, 1974) as well as the many references in other biographical and historical works.

For the birds and bees of the city my principal sources have been London’s Natural History by R.S.R. Fitter (London, 1945), The Natural History of the City by R.S.R. Fitter and J.F. Lousley (London, 1953), Bird Watching in London by E.M. Nicholson (London, 1995), London Green by N. Braybrooke (London, 1959), Birds in London by W.H. Hudson (London, 1924), London Birds and Beasts by J.T. Tristram-Valentine (London, 1895) and Familiar London Birds by F. Finn (London, 1923).

On the weather of London, the most significant account is contained in The Big Smoke: A History of Air Pollution in London by P. Brimblecombe (London, 1987) while London’s Hurricane by M. Davison and I. Currie (Tonbridge, 1989) blew some fresh air into the subject.

The nature and history of Clerkenwell are covered in several volumes, the most important being The History of Clerkenwell by H.J. Pinks (London, 1865). J. Adlard’s In Sweet St. James’s Clerkenwell (London, 1984) can be recommended, together with Islington by C. Harris (London, 1974) and Smithfield Past and Present by A. Forshaw and T. Bergstrom (London, 1980).

For all subterranean contemplations I owe a debt to London Under London by R. Trench and E. Hillman (London, 1985), Buried London by W.T. Hill (London, 1955) and The Lost Rivers of London by N. Barton (London, 1962).

On the madness of London it is worth consulting M. Byrd’s Visits to Bedlam (Columbia, 1974) and R. Reed’s Bedlam on the Jacobean Stage (Cambridge, 1952); the most significant work, however, is D. Russell’s Scenes From Bedlam (London, 1997).

On the subject of children there are all the volumes composed by I. and P. Opie, particularly The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (Oxford, 1959) and Children’s Games in Streets and Playgrounds (Oxford, 1969). Other sources include London Street Games by N. Douglas (London, 1931), The Young Londoner Through the Ages by D.M. Stuart (London, 1962), Children’s Literature: An Illustrated History edited by P. Hunt (Oxford, 1995), The London Child by E. Sharp (London, 1927), and The Cries of Banbury and London by J. Rusher (London, 1820). Growing Up in London by M. Chamberlain (London, 1989) is a wonderful memoir, while no account of London childhood would be complete without mentioning the important work of G. Speaight. I have made particular use of his The History of the English Puppet Theatre (London, 1955), The History of the English Toy Theatre (London, 1946) and A History of the Circus (London, 1980).

On graffiti three works, as well as the walls of London, have been scrutinised: Graffiti by R.G. Freeman (London, 1966), The Handwriting on the Wall by E. Abel and B. Buckley (London, 1977) and the extraordinary The Merry Thought or the Glass Window and Bog House Miscellany by Hurlo Thrumbo (London, 1732).

On immigration I have consulted I. MCauley’s Guide to Ethnic London (London, 1993), Indians in Britain 1700-1947 by R. Viscram (London, 1986), Exiles of Erin by L.H. Lees (Manchester, 1979) and Windrush by M. and T. Phillips (London, 1999).

For my chapter on the suburbs I am indebted to London Suburbs , with an introduction by A. Saint (London, 1999), Semi-Detached London by A.A. Jackson (London, 1973), London in the Country by G.R. Williams (London, 1975) and Something in Linoleum by P. Vaughan (London, 1994).

For my chapter on the Second World War I am indebted to London at War by P. Ziegler (London, 1995), The Lost Treasures of London by W. Kent (London, 1947) and History Under Fire by J. Pope-Hennessy (London, 1941).

On the subject of illustrations, I would like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Richard Shone. On illustrative, and general editorial matters I am indebted to Penelope Hoare and Stuart Williams.