London: A Social History (A New
York Times notable book 1995) by
Roy Porter
A City And Its Peoples
This dazzling and yet intimate book is the first modern one-volume history
of London from Roman times to the present. An extraordinary city, London
grew from a backwater in the Classical age into an important medieval city,
a significant Renaissance urban center, and a modern colossus. Roy
Porter paints a detailed landscape--from the grid streets and fortresses of
Julius Caesar and William the Conqueror to the medieval, walled most
noble city of churches, friars, and crown and town relationships. Within the
crenelated battlements, manufactures and markets developed and street-
life buzzed.
Londons profile in 1500 was much as it was at the peak of Roman power.
The city owed its courtly splendor and national pride of the Tudor Age to
the phenomenal expansion of its capital. It was the envy of foreigners, the

spur of civic patriotism, and a hub of culture, architecture, great literature,
and new religion. From the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries,
London experienced a cruel civil war, raging fires, enlightenment in
thought, government, and living, and the struggle and benefits of empire.
From the lament that London was but is no more to you, who are to stand
a wonder to all Years and ages...a phoenix, London became an elegant,
eye-catching, metropolitan hub. It was a mosaic, Porter shows, that
represented the shared values of a people--both high and low born--at
work and play.
London was and is a wonder city, a marvel. Not since ancient times has
there been such a city--not eternal, but vibrant, living, full of a free people
ever evolving. In this transcendent book, Roy Porter touches the pulse of
his hometown and makes it our own, capturing Londons fortunes, people,
and imperial glory with brio and wit.
Personal Review: London: A Social History (A New York Times
notable book 1995) by Roy Porter
Roy Porter, noted and trained as a medical historian, turned his attention
to the social development of London, and we are the richer for it. Porter is
a Londoner, and has a passion for the city. He is, however, frank in his
conviction that London has had it's hour upon the stage:'London is not the
eternal city.... Between the two Elizabeths, between 1570 and 1986 to be
more precise, it was to become the world's greatest city.'Porter sees the
abolition of the Greater London Council (GLC) by Margaret Thatcher as a
benchmark to the demise of London as a great city (I happen to disagree;
will he change his opinion in light of the upcoming mayoral elections in
London?) Porter's current pessimism about London is very apparent from
page 1 of the introduction; however, this does not keep him from doing a
sterling job with his subject throughout the text.Porter gives brief
description to Londinium (mentioning among other things that it was
abandoned 'to the dogs' by the Romans in the fifth century), however,
begins his history in earnest about the year 1500 because while 'the
Romano-British city and its medieval successor have left extensive
archaeological remains and chronicles, ...we have no full visual record
from before the Tudor age.'Porter examines eras in terms of the history of
culture, of commerce and industry, and of population and social changes.
The nineteenth century (in which there was practically no urban planning,
as any current map will inform you) is described as 'Bumbledom',
particularly in the field of London politics. Porter describes the expansion of
London as a 'fungus-like growth' in the late 19th/early 20th centuries; he
concludes his analysis with chapters on 'Swinging London' and 'Thatcher's
London'. Porter leaves us with a question: 'London was always a muddle
that worked. Will it remain that way?' In all, a wonderful read, a wonderful
story, and a wonderful topic.

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