Londinopolis: Essays in the Cultural and Social History of Early Modern London

by Paul Griffiths (Editor), Mark S.R. Jenner (Editor)

Events such as the fire of London and the Plague, and locations like the Globe, are part of our ‘national heritage’ however until recently the history of London between 1500 and 1750 has been little studied. As a city London underwent exceptional changes - its population soared from around 50,000 in 1500 to approximately 200,000 in 1600 and by 1700 it was nearly half a million. Covering the themes of polis and the police, gender and sexuality, space and place, and material culture and consumption the book encounters thieves, prostitutes, litigious wives, the poor, disease, ‘great quantities of gooseberry pye’ and the very taxing question of fresh water. Focuses on the experiences and perceptions of Londoners, rather than giving an account of a depersonalized and disembodied thing called “London”. Will be essential reading for anyone interested in the history of London or in the social and cultural history of early modern society.

296 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2000

About the author

Paul Griffiths is Associate Professor of Early Modern British Cultural and Social History at the History Department, Iowa State University. His publications include Youth and Authority: Formative Experiences in England, 1560-1640 (1996) and, as co-editor, Penal Practice and Culture, 1500-1900: Punishing the English (2004).

Reviews

[17CECO · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laura Gowing's essay was quite good in outline gendered struggles over street and market space. As I try to think about what urban commons were in the 17th century, passages like this are infinitely suggestive: "Women did not live passively in rigidly organized spaces: they adapted the rooms and walls within which they lived and caused them to be rebuilt. Indeed, women's agency over their neighborhood environment was frequently at the heart of the conflict: what provoked the predominantly female defamation suits at the Church courts often turns out to have been disputes over building rights, access to water or light, or shop space." Water, light--resources to which urban dwellers claimed a common right.

My general experience with this book: these seem like bulldozer style essays, building up a mass of evidence to make, quite often, modest points about the realities of Early Modern London life. Yet for the patient reader sometimes the stray interesting piece of analysis shines through or one stumbles across a piece of fact-y stuff that begs for alternative readings. It gives me something to do.