London's Underworld: Three Centuries of Vice and Crime

by Fergus Linnane

London's Underworld is the superbly evocative survey of 300 years of organised crime in the UK capital. Full of vivid detail and characters, it is an examination of the underside of the world's richest city as it evolved from the extreme violence of the early eighteenth century to the vastly more complex and lucrative, but no less violent, gangland of today. Fergus Linnane takes us on the nightmarish last journeys of condemned criminals to execution. We follow the ingenious criminals who carried out the first great train robbery in 1854 and the gang that robbed the Bank of England. We enter death-trap eighteenth century prisons, described as a 'prototype of hell'. We walk the crowded streets of Victorian London with its swarms of prostitutes, its magsmen and garrotters. We enter low drinking dens where prostitutes and their murderous accomplices practise their arts. We see the rise and fall of the interwar racecourse gangs and the battle for control of the West End, which bequeathed us much of the structure of present-day gangland. This story has the power to disturb and even disgust, but it is endlessly fascinating.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Crime, London, True Crime, Research, European History

Hardcover

First published March 1, 2003

Reviews

[Ipswichblade · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant surprise wasn’t convinced this was going to be as enjoyable as it turned out. Well worth reading

[Gisselle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat dry history of London's underworld since the 17th century. Given some of the people and stories are so remarkable it could be argued they didn't need further embellishment (and possibly carrying over from a "just the facts" school of reporting), it still felt like the author could've added something extra; a more engaging style definitely would've made this book a keeper. As it was, I still finished it and found things out about London's more sordid past so it did its job. The section on the role of race felt somewhat undercooked, and it would've been nice if certain suggestions he had of the role of antisemitism had been expanded on as well. Generally I liked it.

[Steven Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the history of crime in London (at least in the 17th century on…couldn't we have seen what crime in Elizabethan times was like?), and Linnane does a very competent job showing the crime gangs, mores, and outrageous characters like Jonathan Wild. He explains why a major city had no police force, and documents the styles of crime, criminals, punishment, and the seedy side of London town. It's pretty gruesome and exciting…better to be reading then to have been living it.
I think the book loses its pace in the twentieth century somewhat. It goes into certain groups and sections chapter by chapter, and while I found most of the book absorbing, the last one hundred pages were a slog. But mentioning the Krays, Jack Spot, and also the amount of prostitution (rampant in the Victorian period, calming down, then revving up again for WWII), are informative, and I think this is an excellent reference book.
It also has very good illustrations, especially from Dore's studies of London, and faces of gangsters helps connect the story.

[Marisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know how you make "300 years of vice and crime" dull, but Linnane did it here. No linear narrative, a jumping timeline, poor sentence structure, introducing acronyms without explaining them first... General terrible piece for a very interesting subject matter.

[Cat. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eeeuw. This is the book I will recommend to people who think that crime was invented in the 20th century. The criminal element in the 17th and 18th century in London was bold enough that no less a person than the King was pickpocketed...more than once. Crime was rampant, unconfined and unchecked.

The main problem was that there was no police force of any kind until around 1830. The British didn't want to give up their "liberties" and be like the French with their gendarmes and secret police. Instead, they suffered incredibly fearful streets.

Honestly, I didn't read much of the 20th century discussion of crime. It seemed to assume a certain knowledge of individual cases that I didn't have. Actually, this was problematic throughout: I just recognize names like Robert Peel and James Boswell more than the Kray family.

Interesting for research purposes.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating if sometimes disturbing look at crime in London through the centuries. From smugglers and train robbers to harlots and pickpockets, Linnane covers it all. I learned how central a role certain neighborhoods played in the criminal world. I learned why it took so long for the city to get a dedicated police force. Linnane doesn't forget the more depressing side of the underworld--dire poverty, child prostitution, drug addiction. Overall, an good read for anyone interested in the history of London or the history of crime.

[Becky Loader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow! London makes Chicago seem like Pollyanna's home town. I had no idea how deep the roots of organized crime can go. Some of the descriptions of the 18th century are brutal. Shudder! Not an easy read.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look at London's underworld from the 17th Century until the 21st.

Informative and well written.

Recommended for anyone interesting in criminal history, and the history of London.

[Angelique Simonsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyed this book. a lot of interesting facts

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. It is an average sized book, so it is an overview of 2 1/2 centuries, but not a lot of detail. It covers "organized" crime (gangs, bosses, prostitution and drug rings as well as robbers and house breakers) in London between Jonathan Wilde in the mid-1700s to the Kray twins in the 1950s-70s. It also gives an overview of the changes in the penal system through the 1800s, the establishment of the City, Thames River and Metropolitan police forces, as well as "bent coppers".

I found good stuff about the earlier periods, which probably would be detailed in Cheney's The Victorian Underworld , Donald Low's The Regency Underworld and other books listed in the book's Bibliography. A large chunk of the text is devoted to criminal gangs between the world wars and after World War II : Jack Spot, Ronnie and Reggie Kray and "ethnic" gangs.

I recommend it as a good introduction to organized crime in London, but not as a definative book.