Author:Peter Ackroyd
London Under is an atmospheric, imaginative introduction to everything that goes on under London, from original springs and streams and Roman amphitheatres to Victorian sewers, gang hideouts and modern Underground stations. This book tunnels down through the geological layers, meeting the creatures, both real and fictional, that dwell in the darkness - rats and eels, monsters and ghosts.
From the Anglo-Saxon graves under St Paul's, to the hydraulic device in Kensal Green cemetery which lowered bodies into the catacombs below, to the fossils uncovered when the Victoria Line was built and the gold bars within the Bank of England's vaults, London Under takes you into a hidden world, beneath our feet.
Ackroyd is a knowledgeable and evocative guide to London’s different archaeological levels
—— Times Higher Education SupplementAs ever his research is meticulous, his scope expansive, his writing definitive. Every sentence is delivered with judicial gravity and command...Once again, Ackroyd shares his vision of a mythical city most do not see
—— Euan Ferguson , Time OutWhile many authors have shone a flashlight on London's catacombs and tunnels, Ackroyd's vision is infra-red...skilled at connecting the past, present and future...For those looking for a highly readable introduction, plumb and depth to get a copy
—— LondonistThis book is not a straightforward history of London's relationship with the clay on which it stands but a poetic invoking of what Ackroyd perceives as the diabolic terror of the earth
—— Claire Allfree , MetroOther worlds lurk below London, and Ackroyd revels in them. The book is both an absorbing history of those parts of the capital that lie beneath our feet and a meditation on the meaning we give them
—— Literary ReviewA literary, cultural and topographical sat-nav for going underground in London... With quick, deft stitches he sews the fantastical and the familiar into a macabre sampler of the city that exists beneath the feet of its citizens
—— The TimesLondon Under is written with Ackroyd's characteristic panache
—— Sunday Times[A] fascinating history of the capital beneath the surface... Irresistible
—— Dominic Sandbrook , Financial TimesThere is much here that will delight Ackroyd's many admirers
—— Times Literary SupplementAckroyd takes us through the layers of the city, lifting the covers to peer downwards
—— Camden New JournalIn a short but intriguing book, Ackroyd explores the idea that, beneath the surface, there has existed another world with rules and conventions of its own
—— Financial TimesAnyone intrigued by this tumultuous city will devour London Under in a few transporting hours... packed with revelations... Ackroyd's stylistic brilliance explains why the book remains a rattling good read
—— Christopher Hirst , IndependentFascinating study of everything under London, from rats and eels to monsters and ghosts.
—— Lady (Five-star review)As London's anatomist-in-chief, Peter Ackroyd turns his focus on what lies beneath the capital's surface. Peppered with erudite and literary references, Ackroyd's fluent style makes for entertaining reading
—— James Urquhart , Financial TimesPacked with anecdotes and fascinating trivia...Ackroyd never misses an opportunity to link this hidden realm with the underworlds of mythology
—— Leon Burakowski , Halesowen ChronicleReveals the London beneath your feet in all its fascinating – and sometimes horrifying – glory. Historian and novelist Ackroyd invests his tales of buried rivers and catacombs with enormous energy
—— ELLE Decoration