The Secret History of Our Streets: London

by Joseph Bullman, Neil Hegarty, Brian Hill

The Secret History of Our Streets explores six roads spread across inner London - from Camberwell, Holland Park and Islington to Shoreditch, Deptford and Bermondsey - through the experiences of the people who lived there. Stories of poverty and violence, faith, love and hope, this is an intimate examination of our capital and the changing lives of its inhabitants. The history of over a hundred years of social change, this is the untold history of the sreets beneath our feet.

You'll never look at your own street the same way again.

Genres: London, History, Nonfiction, Research

352 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2012

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable book that talks about the history of six particular streets in London - Reverdy Road, Deptford High Street and Camberwell Grove in the South and Caledonian Road, Portland Road and Arnold Circus in the North. Managed to find the BBC series online which added a great visual dimension.

[tara bomp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good and interesting survey of a few streets in London. Leans very heavily on Charles Booth's work but does have history to bring it up to the present day. Wished it did more from that angle though, kind of frustrating to have a good amount of detail from around 1900 and then just bits and pieces for the next 100 years... doesn't really fulfil its stated goal very well because of that. Could have done with more maps too because it was hard to place the streets in context. Also some weirdness with suggesting gentrification is wholly good. But overall, although it's not particularly detailed or academic, an interesting and easy to read look at some parts of London.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the tie in to the TV series of the same name. Has far more detail that they could not cover in the TV series, or that could not transfer to the screen.

Fascinating look at the six streets around the capital. Fro Portman Road to Camberwell Green. Looks at the survey that Booth did at the end of the Victorian age, and looks how the demographics changed over the 20th Century and into the 21st.

Good social history book

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little windows onto my favorite world. I learned a lot from this book.

[Aida Saldana Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned lots about areas I have lived in, and the one I am living now... very interesting!

[Stephen Bigger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this romp around the history of London streets.