London Under
by Peter Ackroyd | 
Georgian London: Into the Streets
by Lucy Inglis |
Secret London
by Andrew Duncan | 
Hackney, That Rose-Red Empire
by Iain Sinclair |
Lost London, 1870-1945
by Philip Davies | 
In Europe
by Geert Mak | 
A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World
by Tony Horwitz | 
Landmarks
by Robert Macfarlane | 
Cities of Gold
by Douglas Preston |
South with Endurance
by Frank Hurley |
Foreign Devils on the Silk Road
by Peter Hopkirk | 
The Fourth Part of the World
by Toby Lester | 
Amsterdam
by Russell Shorto | 
Heaven's Command: An Imperial Progress
by Jan Morris | 
Pax Britannica
by Jan Morris | 
The Discovery of France
by Graham Robb | 
Venice
by Thomas F. Madden | 
Voices of the Old Sea
by Norman Lewis | 
Borderland
by Anna Reid | 
Going Back to Bisbee
by Richard Shelton |
London is a city with almost as many ancient legends and deep-rooted customs as it has streets and landmarks, and here a leading folklorist brings together an astonishingly rich selection of them--tales of ghosts and witches; stories about fabled events, heroes, and villains; and accounts of local supersitions and beliefs. Beyond simply retelling these stories it also delves through layers of hearsay and speculation to investigate how and why they arose. In the process, it shows how the story of Dick Whittington and his cat has connections with the ancient Middle East, explains why lions rather than ravens at the Tower of London were once felt to be inextricably bound up with the city's fate, and pinpoints precisely where the story of Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street, was first recorded. Exploring everything from local superstitions, to ghost stories, to annual customs, this is an enchanting guide to the ancient legends and deep-rooted beliefs that can be found the length and breadth of the city.