London
A Travel Guide Through Time
Published on 16. June 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
528 pages
978-1-4059-1914-2 (ISBN)
Description
Step back in time and discover the sights, sounds and smells of London through the ages in this enthralling journey into the capital's rich, teeming and occasionally hazardous past.
Let time traveller Dr Matthew Green be your guide to six extraordinary periods in London's history - the ages of Shakespeare, medieval city life, plague, coffee houses, the reign of Victoria and the Blitz.
We'll turn back the clock to the time of Shakespeare and visit a savage bull and bear baiting arena on the Bankside. In medieval London, we'll circle the walls as the city lies barricaded under curfew, while spinning further forward in time we'll inhale the 'holy herb' in an early tobacco house, before peering into an open plague pit. In the 18th century, we'll navigate the streets in style with a ride on a sedan chair, and when we land in Victorian London, we'll take a tour of freak-show booths and meet the Elephant Man.
You'll meet pornographers and traitors, actors and apothecaries, the mad, bad and dangerous to know, all desperate to show you the thrilling and vibrant history of the world's liveliest city.
Let time traveller Dr Matthew Green be your guide to six extraordinary periods in London's history - the ages of Shakespeare, medieval city life, plague, coffee houses, the reign of Victoria and the Blitz.
We'll turn back the clock to the time of Shakespeare and visit a savage bull and bear baiting arena on the Bankside. In medieval London, we'll circle the walls as the city lies barricaded under curfew, while spinning further forward in time we'll inhale the 'holy herb' in an early tobacco house, before peering into an open plague pit. In the 18th century, we'll navigate the streets in style with a ride on a sedan chair, and when we land in Victorian London, we'll take a tour of freak-show booths and meet the Elephant Man.
You'll meet pornographers and traitors, actors and apothecaries, the mad, bad and dangerous to know, all desperate to show you the thrilling and vibrant history of the world's liveliest city.
Reviews / Votes
Dr Matthew Green, author of London: A Travel Guide Through Time, has a knack for revealing the most unexpected details of London's multifaceted past in fascinating and accessible detail. * Daily Telegraph * Matthew Green's time travelling vehicle's headlights focus on fascinating details, time after time, as it swoops around London. A must for anyone interested in London's history. His research can't be faulted. -- Liza Picard (bestselling author of 'Elizabeth's London' and 'Restoration London') It's a sizeable tome, yet written with such a storyteller's flare that the pages whizz by like a hover-converted Delorean... London: A Travel Guide Through Time is easily the most engaging social history of the capital since the books of Liza Picard a decade ago. * Londonist * London: A Travel Guide Through Time is really excellent; I think it's one of the best London books for a long, long time. Green is a brilliant, brilliant London historian. -- Robert Elms * BBC Radio London * I enjoyed this book immensely. Matthew Green has executed an original idea extremely well. Every page yields fascinating glimpses into the past habits and horrors of our greatest city, bringing to life the detail of daily existence in an unforgettable way. There are many surprises for all of us here about how Londoners lived, at least as much, it turns out, in the 1950s as in the 1390s. An excellent and vivid work of history. -- William Hague Dr Matthew Green is hands down the best storyteller I have ever met. His book, London: A Travel Guide Through Time, is endlessly illuminating and engaging. -- George Lamb London: A Travel Guide Through Time, by the hugely talented author Dr Matthew Green, is a masterful evocation of the sights, sounds - and smells - of old London town at various key moments through the last few centuries. -- Tom Hodgkinson (bestselling author of 'How To Be Idle') A brilliantly-observed work...Green starts each chapter by plonking you in a very specific location - richly described - in the London of the year featured. You then visit various parts of the metropolis by both day and night...like a skilled guide or conversationalist, the author succeeds in making the places visited genuinely interesting. A wonderful debut. * London Historians * Green is a superb storyteller. The writing is evocative and witty. It was such an engaging book, that I was loathe to put down at night. Whether you are new to London, a born-and-bred Londoner looking to to rekindle your connection with your city, or a visitor planning to enjoy a trip here, this book is for you. * Medievalists.net * No-one makes history come to life more vividly than the erudite, acclaimed and all-round impressive Dr. Matthew Green. -- Eleanor O'Keefe (co-founder, 5x15)More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 38 mm
Weight
422 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4059-1914-2 (9781405919142)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2015
1st Edition
Penguin Books Ltd
€9.49
Available for download
Person
Dr Matthew Green is an historian and broadcaster, with a PhD in the history of London from Oxford University. He writes historical features for the Telegraph and Guardian, appears in documentaries on the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, and gives talks all over London. He is the co-founder of Unreal City Audio, which produces immersive, critically acclaimed tours of London as live events, audio downloads and apps.