Synopses & Reviews
Events such as the Fire of London and the Plague, and historic locations like the Globe Theatre, are part of London's heritage. Yet until recently, the history of the city between 1500 and 1750 has been little studied. During this period, London's population soared from around 50,000 to nearly half a million--the demographic explosion transformed the city to a metropolis. London became a center of new social and sexual identities and a solvent of older, more hierarchical forms of social organization. The essays in this volume cover the themes of polis and the police, gender and sexuality, space and place, and material culture and consumption. Within these themes are thieves, prostitutes, litigious wives, the poor, disease, “great quantities of gooseberry pye,” and the taxing question of fresh water.
Review
"...a charming and informative set of essays..."
- Bibliotheque d'Humanisme et Renaissance
Synopsis
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.
About the Author
Paul Griffiths is the Professor of British History at Iowa State University.
Mark S.R. Jenner is Lecturer in History at the University of York.
Table of Contents
Popular Politics in 16th and Early-17th-Century London--Ian Archer * Reordering Ritual--Michael Berlin * Thief-Takers and Their Clients in London--Tim Wales * The Pattern of Sexual Immorality in 17th and 18th-century London--Faramerz Dabhoiwala * London Wives and Marital “Rights” in the Court of Exchequer in the Early-18th Century--Margaret R. Hunt * The Freedom of the Streets--Laura Gowing * Skirting the City?--Margaret Pelling * “Uniformity" in the Goldsmiths Row--Paul Griffiths * The Poor Among the Rich--Jeremy Boulton * “Great quantities of gooseberry pye and baked clod of beef"--Sara Pennell * From Conduit Community to Commercial Network?--Mark Jenner