London: The Biography

On matters of sound and silence there is nothing more appropriate or interesting than the arresting The Acoustic World of Early Modern England by B.R. Smith (Chicago, 1999).

On the question of maps and general topographical matters there are The Times London History Atlas edited by H. Clout (London, 1991) and The History of London in Maps by F. Barker and P. Jackson (London, 1990). There is also a wonderful series of old maps, published in association with the London Topographical Society and the Guildhall Library, under the general rubric of “A to Z” of Elizabethan, Restoration, Georgian, Regency and Victorian Londons.

There are several studies on the Cockney dialect; London’s Dialect by M. Macbride (London, 1910), W. Matthews’s Cockney Past and Present (London, 1938), Cockney Phonology by E. Sivertsen (Oslo, 1960) and, most importantly, P. Wright’s Cockney Dialect and Slang (London, 1981).

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.