What do you think?
Rate this book
Soho: A Street Guide to Soho's History, Architecture and People
Soho - illicit, glamorous, sordid, louche, poverty-stricken, squalid, exhilarating.
One of Britain's best-loved historians, Dan Cruickshank, grants us an intimacy with centuries of rich and varied history as he guides us around the Soho of the last five hundred years. We learn of its original aspirations towards respectability, how it became London's bohemian quarter and why it was once home to its criminal underworld. The bars, clubs, theatres and their frequenters are described with detail that evokes the heart of the district.
The history of Soho is written in its surviving architecture. Cruickshank points out the streets that were the stamping grounds of criminal dynasties and directs our attention towards the homes of renowned prostitutes, revealing Georgian sexual mores and surprising visitors - amongst them eighteenth-century painter Joshua Reynolds, whose peculiar 'caprice' was simply drawing the girls. Soho has been home to characters as diverse as Mrs Goadby's girls to the Maltese mafia, and Cruikshank draws these threads together with kaleidoscopic verve.
Even as he mourns some of the changes, he pays testament to the district's resilience. He observes how the common denominator over the centuries is that it has always been a destination for immigrants: from French Huguenots to the East European Jewish community and recent Chinese diaspora - and that this is the foundation of its spirit and success.
One of Britain's best-loved historians, Dan Cruickshank, grants us an intimacy with centuries of rich and varied history as he guides us around the Soho of the last five hundred years. We learn of its original aspirations towards respectability, how it became London's bohemian quarter and why it was once home to its criminal underworld. The bars, clubs, theatres and their frequenters are described with detail that evokes the heart of the district.
The history of Soho is written in its surviving architecture. Cruickshank points out the streets that were the stamping grounds of criminal dynasties and directs our attention towards the homes of renowned prostitutes, revealing Georgian sexual mores and surprising visitors - amongst them eighteenth-century painter Joshua Reynolds, whose peculiar 'caprice' was simply drawing the girls. Soho has been home to characters as diverse as Mrs Goadby's girls to the Maltese mafia, and Cruikshank draws these threads together with kaleidoscopic verve.
Even as he mourns some of the changes, he pays testament to the district's resilience. He observes how the common denominator over the centuries is that it has always been a destination for immigrants: from French Huguenots to the East European Jewish community and recent Chinese diaspora - and that this is the foundation of its spirit and success.
416 pages, Hardcover
Published September 17, 2020
10 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Dan Cruickshank
39 books25 followersDan Cruickshank (1949 - ) is a British art historian and BBC television presenter, with a special interest in the history of architecture.
He holds a BA in Art, Design and Architecture and was formerly a Visiting Professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Sheffield and a member of the London faculty of the University of Delaware. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, a member of the Executive Committee of the Georgian Group and on the Architectural Panel of the National Trust.
He holds a BA in Art, Design and Architecture and was formerly a Visiting Professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Sheffield and a member of the London faculty of the University of Delaware. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, a member of the Executive Committee of the Georgian Group and on the Architectural Panel of the National Trust.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 3, 2021
Cruickshank’s book on Soho is hard for me to rate. I fussed over 3 or 4. The writing is definitely fine and he is an experienced writer on English architecture, an experienced educator and most importantly a preservationist. With those things in mind, I decided on 4 in spite of the fact that I found the book could sometimes be like reading an annotated phone book (without the phone numbers.)
I preferred the first part of the book. It describes the history of the area from the time it mostly belonged to the church and a few large owners, through Henry VIII’s ownership after the dissolution of the church lands and his use of the area as a private hunting and game preserve. It then passed through many owners becoming smaller and smaller parcels. Cruikshank demonstrates how Soho’s character has developed through all of its trends. It has remained “mixed” even “louche” because of its tolerance for many religions, ethnic groups and outsider types. Later in the book the author walks the reader by miles and miles of Soho buildings, and that gets a little exhausting.
I like the fact that Cruikshank only really gets angry at the trend of demolition. He’s pretty tolerant of quirky out of place buildings and fixes. It’s just the character of Soho. In order to read this book, I needed a London guidebook, an enlarged map and the internet. An example for me was a street number Cruikshank gave saying the particular building had a nice Georgian staircase and surround but had gotten an exterior update in the Art Deco period that saw it clad in shiny black tiles. That I had to see. Sure enough if you check the address on the internet you see an old building surrounded by old red brick buildings, only this particular building is faced in large, shiny black tiles like a bus station in black. It didn’t particularly horrify the author. It’s all part of Soho.
I preferred the first part of the book. It describes the history of the area from the time it mostly belonged to the church and a few large owners, through Henry VIII’s ownership after the dissolution of the church lands and his use of the area as a private hunting and game preserve. It then passed through many owners becoming smaller and smaller parcels. Cruikshank demonstrates how Soho’s character has developed through all of its trends. It has remained “mixed” even “louche” because of its tolerance for many religions, ethnic groups and outsider types. Later in the book the author walks the reader by miles and miles of Soho buildings, and that gets a little exhausting.
I like the fact that Cruikshank only really gets angry at the trend of demolition. He’s pretty tolerant of quirky out of place buildings and fixes. It’s just the character of Soho. In order to read this book, I needed a London guidebook, an enlarged map and the internet. An example for me was a street number Cruikshank gave saying the particular building had a nice Georgian staircase and surround but had gotten an exterior update in the Art Deco period that saw it clad in shiny black tiles. That I had to see. Sure enough if you check the address on the internet you see an old building surrounded by old red brick buildings, only this particular building is faced in large, shiny black tiles like a bus station in black. It didn’t particularly horrify the author. It’s all part of Soho.
February 4, 2023
Wry passionate about the subject, walk concentrates on architecture. Would be interesting to weave the historical elements into the walk as well.
Will be working my way through the streets on lunchtime walks
Will be working my way through the streets on lunchtime walks
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews