London, Hub of the Industrial Revolution: A Revisionary History, 1775-1825, and: A History of London, and: Restoration London: From Poverty to Pets, From Medicine to Magic, From Slang to Sex, From Wallpaper to Women's Rights, and: London 1900: The Imperial Metropolis (review)

That four Londons are reviewed in this essay calls attention to the popularity of the topic, yet they represent only a few of the most recent publications. Each work touches variously on the city, as its title suggests. Inwoods's, a well-documented narrative, is a general up-date in accord with the latest scholarship. Barnett reinterprets the city's role during the Industrial Revolution, emphasizing that the metropolis did not play second-fiddle to the great Midlands' cities. Schneer captures the aura of imperial London at the dawn of a new century, exactly a hundred years ago. Finally, Picard's is a delightful vignette of Restoration life with lots of delicious anecdotes. That London history today is enjoying a renaissance speaks well for the city's continued resilience as well as its mystique. Each work reviewed here makes its special contribution to both.