Synopsis
A city long shrouded in literary and historical mists--not to mention real ones--London seduces tourists and natives alike. From Big Ben to the grimy Victorian streets of Dickens novels on up to the sleek high-rises that dot the skyline of the twenty-first-century metropolis, the urban landscape of London is steeped in history, while forever responsive to the changing dictates of progress, industry, and culture. In London: A Life in Maps, acclaimed historian Peter Whitfield reveals a wealth of surprising truths and forgotten facts hidden in the city’s historic maps.
Whitfield examines nearly 200 maps spanning the last 500 years, all of which vividly demonstrate the vast changes wrought on London’s streets, open spaces, and buildings. In a rich array of colorful cartographic illustrations, the maps chronicle London’s tumultuous history, from the devastation of the Great Fire to the indelible marks left by World Wars I and II to the emergence of the West End as a fashion mecca. Whitfield reads historic sketches and detailed plans as biographical keys to this complex, sprawling urban center, and his in-depth examination unearths fascinating insights into the city of black cabs and red double-deckers. With engaging prose and astute analysis he also expertly coaxes out the subtle complexities—of social history, urban planning, and design—within the rich documentation of London’s immense and constantly changing cityscape.
London: A Life in Maps lets readers wander through the past and present of London’s celebrated streets—from Abbey Road to Savile Row—and along the way reveals the city’s captivating history, vibrant culture, and potential future.
Linda M. Kaufmann - Library Journal
Whitfield, the author of several books on maps, including Cities of the World, has produced a fascinating history of London organized around some 100 of the countless maps, panoramas, and plans created of the city over the last 500 years, going back to the earliest extant map. Arranged chronologically, each map or plan serves as the accompaniment to a chapter that in fact covers more than the map in question. Thus, an unused 1666 plan for postfire reconstruction by Christopher Wren highlights a chapter on "The London That Wren Never Saw," while an essay entitled "Mapping Poverty and Wealth" is illustrated with a colorful map section detailing the economic status of the inhabitants of Victorian London. London's lost rivers, scandalous pleasure gardens, and memorable architecture are featured in other chapters. Whitfield serves up an enjoyable mix of facts, both familiar and obscure, handsomely supported with contemporary illustrations in addition to the maps. As with any book reproducing graphics in a reduced size, some detail is lost, but anyone with an interest in the history of London or of maps generally will find much to enjoy. Recommended highly for public and academic libraries.