London Under - Peter Ackroyd
London Under - Peter Ackroyd
Non-Fiction
Pages: 208
This book wasn't quite what I was expecting. I'd expected something in the more traditional vein of history, something exploring the history of London beneath the surface, the Underground, the sewers, the buried layers of prehistoric, Roman, Saxon, medieval relics. What it really is is a much more poetical exploration of how we respond to the concept of 'underground', the fears and horrors, the way we have both shunned and sought life beneath the surface.
Ackroyd writes about the sewers of London, the first tunnels under the Thames, the founding of the Underground and its growth, the abandoned stations, the way the Underground was used for safety and security during the Blitz. He also writes about the way our history retreats underground, layer upon layer of buildings and architecture sinking beneath the surface. It must have been fascinating to work on the Underground in the early days, digging down through so many layers of history, so much artifacts coming to the surface as they went deeper.
In a way London is just a vehicle for this kind of exploration: Ackroyd could have picked any city in the world, most of which now sprawl in all directions beneath the pavements and streets. But there's something about London particularly - perhaps because it's one of the biggest, one of the oldest, because Londoners were exploring underground long before many cities were even founded.
This book has whetted my appetite, and I really felt it wasn't long enough. It's inspired me to go and find some more books on the world beneath London, that hopefully explore it all in a little more depth and detail.
_________________________________________
*Of couse, David Bowie's Underground is much more exciting. It has goblins for a start. And skintight trousers and feathers. No skintight trousers or feathers in Ackroyd's book. More's the pity.
Non-Fiction
Pages: 208
This book wasn't quite what I was expecting. I'd expected something in the more traditional vein of history, something exploring the history of London beneath the surface, the Underground, the sewers, the buried layers of prehistoric, Roman, Saxon, medieval relics. What it really is is a much more poetical exploration of how we respond to the concept of 'underground', the fears and horrors, the way we have both shunned and sought life beneath the surface.
Ackroyd writes about the sewers of London, the first tunnels under the Thames, the founding of the Underground and its growth, the abandoned stations, the way the Underground was used for safety and security during the Blitz. He also writes about the way our history retreats underground, layer upon layer of buildings and architecture sinking beneath the surface. It must have been fascinating to work on the Underground in the early days, digging down through so many layers of history, so much artifacts coming to the surface as they went deeper.
In a way London is just a vehicle for this kind of exploration: Ackroyd could have picked any city in the world, most of which now sprawl in all directions beneath the pavements and streets. But there's something about London particularly - perhaps because it's one of the biggest, one of the oldest, because Londoners were exploring underground long before many cities were even founded.
This book has whetted my appetite, and I really felt it wasn't long enough. It's inspired me to go and find some more books on the world beneath London, that hopefully explore it all in a little more depth and detail.
_________________________________________
*Of couse, David Bowie's Underground is much more exciting. It has goblins for a start. And skintight trousers and feathers. No skintight trousers or feathers in Ackroyd's book. More's the pity.