Table of Contents

1 The Stone of Brutus 12
2 Walls, amphitheatres and temple 14
3 Shut that gate! 15
4 At sixes and sevens 19
5 Dick Whittington 21
6 A Tale of Two Cities 23
7 Propping up the Bar 25
8 Throw another tax record on the fire 27
9 London Calling 30
10 'A disgrace to civilisation'? 31
11 London Bridge is falling* down 33
12 A river runs through it (usually) 36
13 Dirty old town 38
14 London's eternal railway ring 39
15 Dr Cuming's 'Infernal Regions' 42
16 An ambling horse 45
17 From hearses to Bendies 47
18 Rhyming slang and Bow Bells 49
19 At home with saints and sinners 51
20 London's burning again... 52
21 St Giles takes one for team GB 54
22 London Smog 55
23 1851 - a great year for exhibitions 58
24 London's park for children 60
25 Sub justice in absentia 62
26 An extravagant prince and an ambitious architect 64
27 Keeping it in the family 68
28 The history behind the geography 69
29 A well-appointed city 71
30 Property magnates with stiff collars 72
31 Royal rowing and dodgy dealing 75
32 Secure foundations 76
33 Water, water everywhere 79
34 'Neath the Shade of the Ruislip Poplars 81
35 What lies beneath 83
36 Capital crime and punishment 85
37 The journey to the scaffold 88
38 'Yours truly, Jack the Ripper' 91
39 The long and short arms of the law 93
40 The White City 95
41 HMS Smallpox 97
42 The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon 100
43 Lifeblood of London 102
44 Gone but not forgotten 105
45 Meat, veg, coarse language and fences 108
46 Usurers by any other name 110
47 Hammerbeams and Hoovers 111
48 'A roost for every bird' 113
49 City of God? 116
50 Empire of the bun 119
51 Wren, Rutherford - and Ribbentrop 120
52 Acting up in Theatreland 123
53 Pubs, pints and professors 126
54 The Magnificent Seven 130

About the Author

Stephen Halliday is a historian specialising in British and industrial history. He is an authority on the history of London, with a special interest in the great engineering works. He is the author of Amazing & Extraordinary Facts: London Underground. He contributes articles and reviews to magazines such as Literary Review, Times Higher Education, BBC History and History Today.

Stephen lives in Cambridge.