The London Rich: The Creation Of A Great City From 1666 To The Present

Peter Thorold

Editions

Review

London has been developed by the rich, in their pursuit of magnificence, diversion and profit, and their flight from pollution. In the Strand, Piccadilly, Park Lane - everywhere, palaces were built and then pulled down, sites redeveloped… And in their wake have come characters and chroniclers like Swift, living as a country gentleman in Chelsea, Mrs Thrale at her brewery in Southwark, artists, misanthropes and misfits. Why did Nash fail to make Portland Place and Regent Street a straight thoroughfare? Because Lord Foley refused to sell up. This account of London’s growth would fascinate all literate Londoners, and anyone interested in British history. It is a masterly analysis, and at the same time crammed full with anecdotes. - review by Johnny de Falbe