The London Compendium: A Street-By-Street Exploration of the Hidden Metropolis

by Ed Glinert

The streets of London resonate with secret stories, from East End lore to Cold War espionage, from tales of riots, rakes, anarchy and grisly murders, to Rolling Stones gigs, gangland drinking dens, Orwell's Fitzrovia and Lenin's haunts. Ed Glinert has walked the length and breadth of the city to unravel its mysteries, travelling through time from the Romans' London wall to the new Olympic site at Stratford. This is London as you have never seen it before.

Genres: London, Nonfiction, Travel, History, Reference, Research

523 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2003

Reviews

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

c2003. A really great book for those who like to visit London on random trips. It is supposed to be a street-by-street exploration of the hidden metropolis and it does contain some great info. My only gripe is that it seems to be organised by postal codes within the various boroughs. It is said in the foreword that this is because all the street signs indicate which postal code area you are in. This is true to a certain extent but I think some sort of index of the roads would be better. There is an index for people and subjects but, for instance, I as trying to find Monmouth Street only to find it as a mention in another entry. But, I loved the book so much that I have now bought my own copy which says it all, really.

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if I ever will finish this - but it's extremely fascinating survey of London life via street names and neighborhoods. It's a book to put up and then put down. Take it with you while walking through Soho and it can be a life-changing walk. Wonderful work and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in London's pop history as well as 19th and 18th Century adventures. In London, it's the first book I look at, and right before I sleep, this book is in my little dirty hands.

I saw this book in a bookstore here in London, and it looks totally fascinating. It goes through each area of London and tells its secrets, etc. Even Joe Meek is in the book!

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book you’ll continue to revisit over a long period of time. Been using it when ever I’ve been visiting different places around London and helps make the book more immersive.

Really nice collection of information/history of Londons streets.

[Sitatunga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well it's a much celebrated book. My take is that's its handy but lacks the breadth of the London Encyclopaedia|930119] (though I have reservations about that too) and rather too easily beguiled by the criminous class on the one hand and the long-since debunked, faddish, so-called alternative (left-wing) politics and culture on the other; a sort of up-market Rough Guide. Lacks pictures, maps.

[Alamgir Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Usually, I would say that this type of book is one you dip into rather than read cover to cover. However, read cover to cover I did. I have always been fascinated by my hometown and this book is brimful of interesting information about London, and not just about the obvious things you would associate with it.

[Tina Scott]

Love this book. Little bits of History that fascinate me. I will always read this, over and Over.