Now, with him, Judith Flanders leads us through the markets, transport systems, rivers, slums, alleys, cemeteries, gin palaces, chop-houses and entertainment emporia of Dickens' London, to reveal the Victorian capital in all its variety, vibrancy, and squalor. Technology-railways, street-lighting, and sewers-transformed both the city and the experience of city-living.įrom the moment Charles Dickens, the century's best-loved novelist and London's greatest observer, arrived in the city in 1822, he obsessively walked its streets, recording its pleasures, curiosities and cruelties. London (England) > History.The nineteenth century was a time of unprecedented change, and nowhere was this more apparent than London, which, in only a few decades, grew from a compact Regency town into the largest city the world had ever seen. London (England) > Intellectual life > 19th century. Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870 > Knowledge > London (England) London (England) > Social life and customs > 19th century.

Search for related items by subject Subject:ĭickens, Charles, 1812-1870 > Homes and haunts > England > London. No one who reads Judith Flanders's meticulously researched, captivatingly written The Victorian City will ever view London in the same light again'- Front jacket flap. From the colorful cries of street-sellers to the uncomfortable reality of travel by omnibus, to the many uses for the body parts of dead horses and the unimaginably grueling working days of hawker children, no detail is too small, or too strange. Now, with him, Judith Flanders leads us through the markets, transport systems, sewers, rivers, slums, alleys, cemeteries, gin palaces, chop-houses and entertainment emporia of Dickens' London, to reveal the Victorian capital in all its variety, vibrancy, and squalor. From the moment Charles Dickens, the century's best-loved English novelist and London's greatest observer, arrived in the city in 1822, he obsessively walked its streets, recording its pleasures, curiosities and cruelties. Now Judith Flanders, one of Britain's foremost social historians, explores the world portrayed so vividly in Dickens' novels, showing life on the streets of London in colorful, fascinating detail. Technology-railways, street-lighting, and sewers-transformed both the city and the experience of city-living, as London expanded in every direction.

In only a few decades, the capital grew from a compact Regency town into a sprawling metropolis of 6.5 million inhabitants, the largest city the world had ever seen. 'The nineteenth century was a time of unprecedented change, and nowhere was this more apparent than London.

The Victorian City by Judith Flanders