Synopses & Reviews
In this fascinating and innovative look at nineteenth-century London, Lynda Nead offers a new account of modernity and metropolitan life. She charts the relationship between Londonand#8217;s formation into a modern organized city in the 1860s and the emergence of new types of production and consumption of visual culture. She considers the role visual images played in the creation of a vibrant and diverse urban culture and how new kinds of publics were created for these representations. Shifting the focus of the history of modernity from Paris to London, Nead here argues for a different understanding of gender and public space in a society where women joined the everyday life of city streets and entered the debates concerning morality, spectacle, and adventure.
The book draws on texts and images of many kindsand#151;including acts of Parliament, literature, newspaper reports, private letters, maps, paintings, advertisements, posters, and banned obscene publications. Taking a highly interdisciplinary approach, Nead explores such intriguing topics as the efforts of urban improvers to move water, air, traffic, goods, and people in the Victorian metropolis; the impact of gas lighting and glass on urban leisure; and the obscenity legislation that emerged in response to new forms of visual mass culture that were perceived as dangerous and pervasive.
Review
and#8220;[This] genuinely interdisciplinary study . . . makes a major contribution to our knowledge of the lived experience of the Victorian city.and#8221;and#8212;Timothy Barringer, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians
Review
and#8220;Provocative and brilliant.and#8221;and#8212;Susan P. Casteras, Nineteenth Century Studies
Review
and#8220;Splendid. . . . [Nead] brings an art historianand#8217;s fine sense of visual detail; indeed, one of the most striking features of the book is the wonderful illustrative material.and#8221;and#8212;John Marriott, History Today
Synopsis
In this innovative look at nineteenth-century London, Lynda Nead offers a fresh account of modernity and metropolitan life. Taking a highly interdisciplinary approach, Nead charts the relationship between London's formation into a modern city in the 1860s and the emergence of new ways of producing and consuming visual culture.
This genuinely interdisciplinary study . . . makes a major contribution to our knowledge of the lived experience of the Victorian city.--Timothy Barringer, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians
Provocative and brilliant.--Susan P. Casteras, Nineteenth Century Studies
Splendid. . . . Nead brings an art historian's fine sense of visual detail; indeed, one of the most striking features of the book is the wonderful illustrative material.--John Marriott, History Today
An intriguing study of London at the crossroads of modern history. . . .Well-researched and insightful.--Rebecca Ittner, Victorian Homes
An evocative and visually stunning account of the shifting geographies, temporalities, and visions of mid-Victorian London. . . . Well and beautifully written.--Erika, D. Rappaport, Albion
Nead not only provides a more accurate regendering of the historical townscape but enriches our understanding of modern urban experience.--Peter Bailey, Journal of Social History
About the Author
“[This] genuinely interdisciplinary study . . . makes a major contribution to our knowledge of the lived experience of the Victorian city.”Timothy Barringer, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians
“Provocative and brilliant.”Susan P. Casteras, Nineteenth Century Studies
“Splendid. . . . [Nead] brings an art historians fine sense of visual detail; indeed, one of the most striking features of the book is the wonderful illustrative material.”John Marriott, History Today