What do you think?
Rate this book
When London Was Capital of America
Benjamin Franklin secretly loved London more than Philadelphia: it was simply the most exciting place to be in the British Empire. And in the decade before the outbreak of the American Revolution, thousands of his fellow colonists flocked to the Georgian city in its first big wave of American visitors. At the very point of political rupture, mother country and colonies were socially and culturally closer than ever before. In this first-ever portrait of eighteenth-century London as the capital of America, Julie M. Flavell re-creates the famous city’s heyday as the center of an empire that encompassed North America and the West Indies. The momentous years before independence saw more colonial Americans than ever in London’s streets: wealthy Southern plantation owners in quest of culture, slaves hoping for a chance of freedom, Yankee businessmen looking for opportunities in the city, even Ben Franklin seeking a second, more distinguished career. The stories of the colonials, no innocents abroad, vividly re-create a time when Americans saw London as their own and remind us of the complex, multiracial—at times even decadent—nature of America’s colonial British heritage.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published June 29, 2010
9 people are currently reading
274 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 9, 2015
Parts of the accounts are lively and enjoyable, but others are drier and more of use to a researcher, which is why I am not giving more stars.
We meet a wealthy American household, which sends a son aged seven to school in London. He is accompanied by a black slave who has renamed himself Robert, from Scipio, to fit in better. Upon walking around London the slaves at this time get to see that white people are not all powerful, all wealthy and all respected. Indeed, the gutters and slums are full of poor, sick, begging white people. Not only that, but the plentiful black people meet up and get to talking, and they discover that slavery is not lawful in England. An attempt to grab a slave and throw him on a ship is called kidnap and abduction. No wonder attitudes start to change.
We also contrast American cities of the day with the seat of learning, science and trade London provided. Benjamin Franklin is another character followed through his time in London. The West Indian goods such as sugar were stolen from docks while coffee fuelled commerce. Families considered it acceptable to send an embarrassingly pregnant daughter across the ocean in either direction. Con men thrived on boasts.
I enjoyed reading this account of fast-changing times. However I didn't need it in the depth provided, and we get no street plans of American cities at the time, for contrast. Depending on your requirements from this book you may rate it better than I did.
We meet a wealthy American household, which sends a son aged seven to school in London. He is accompanied by a black slave who has renamed himself Robert, from Scipio, to fit in better. Upon walking around London the slaves at this time get to see that white people are not all powerful, all wealthy and all respected. Indeed, the gutters and slums are full of poor, sick, begging white people. Not only that, but the plentiful black people meet up and get to talking, and they discover that slavery is not lawful in England. An attempt to grab a slave and throw him on a ship is called kidnap and abduction. No wonder attitudes start to change.
We also contrast American cities of the day with the seat of learning, science and trade London provided. Benjamin Franklin is another character followed through his time in London. The West Indian goods such as sugar were stolen from docks while coffee fuelled commerce. Families considered it acceptable to send an embarrassingly pregnant daughter across the ocean in either direction. Con men thrived on boasts.
I enjoyed reading this account of fast-changing times. However I didn't need it in the depth provided, and we get no street plans of American cities at the time, for contrast. Depending on your requirements from this book you may rate it better than I did.
June 1, 2017
Super interesting! In the few decades before the Revolution, American colonists were well represented in London. They lived in a particular neighborhood, frequented particular pubs (New Yorkers in one, Carolinians in another), and were known for their laddish behavior -- not unlike what you hear about British fellas having their stag dos in Estonia in modern times!
The southerners (including the West Indians, who were considered American colonists at the time) brought their slaves, which made for complicated situations since slavery was illegal in England by that time. One savvy fellow abandoned his slave name Scipio for Robert on the voyage, and positioned himself as an equal among the downstairs staff. It's surprising that more slaves didn't run off from their households, since no British law could bring them back.
New Englanders were the outliers -- perceived as rustic, dour, and indistinguishable from any old Yorkshireman. In fact it was their piety and correctness, not their accents, that made them stand out among their fellow Americans. Some things never change!
The southerners (including the West Indians, who were considered American colonists at the time) brought their slaves, which made for complicated situations since slavery was illegal in England by that time. One savvy fellow abandoned his slave name Scipio for Robert on the voyage, and positioned himself as an equal among the downstairs staff. It's surprising that more slaves didn't run off from their households, since no British law could bring them back.
New Englanders were the outliers -- perceived as rustic, dour, and indistinguishable from any old Yorkshireman. In fact it was their piety and correctness, not their accents, that made them stand out among their fellow Americans. Some things never change!
May 18, 2021
The title drew me in. In a very real way, when we were British colonies, London really was the capital. On both sides of the Atlantic, Americans were British subjects. Flavell takes us through what life was like for Americans living in London, and how both the newly born US and Britain affected each other during and after independence. A really interesting read.
January 10, 2018
This was a well researched book about the relationship between colonial Americans and London in the couple of decades immediately before the American Revolution. Though a great piece of scholarship, it unfortunately was not quite what I expected it to be. Whether due to a lack of varied sources, a conscious decision from the start, or some combination of the two, Flavell focuses large chunks of the work on certain people/families, using them as a lens into the world of mid 1700s London. Though at times their lives are interesting, I was hoping this book would be a bit broader in its scope.
To that end, I particularly liked chapter 7 "London's American Landscape" which discussed how literally American plants, food, clothing, items and more became important symbols in London. Similarly, I'm glad she fit into the epilogue a discussion of how Americans living in London (mostly the ones Flavell focuses on earlier) reacted to the breakout of the American Revolution. Those chapters' wider scope was more what I had hoped this book would be about.
Instead, Flavell spends a lot of time focusing on the Laurens family, wealthy planters from South Carolina; Stephen Sayre, a New Yorker who wanted to become a rich Gentleman; and the famous Ben Franklin. Though occasionally these chapters are illuminating, especially the one on the Laurens' slave Robert Scipio, at times it can get a little bit boring. Flavell goes into detail about how all the various Americans knew each other and interacted with each other, including often by inter marriage. Some of this is important in showing the web of social and cultural links American colonials had in London. But a lot reads almost like a dry version of 19th century gossip, especially many sections when she's describing the "Berners Street set" that the Laurens family was a part of.
However, these flaws aside, I certainly did learn a lot about the culture of London these Americans experienced. I wouldn't recommend this for casual readers, especially not cover-to-cover. But there are certainly useful nuggets here or there, and it's a good piece of history for historians studying the colonial and Revolutionary periods.
To that end, I particularly liked chapter 7 "London's American Landscape" which discussed how literally American plants, food, clothing, items and more became important symbols in London. Similarly, I'm glad she fit into the epilogue a discussion of how Americans living in London (mostly the ones Flavell focuses on earlier) reacted to the breakout of the American Revolution. Those chapters' wider scope was more what I had hoped this book would be about.
Instead, Flavell spends a lot of time focusing on the Laurens family, wealthy planters from South Carolina; Stephen Sayre, a New Yorker who wanted to become a rich Gentleman; and the famous Ben Franklin. Though occasionally these chapters are illuminating, especially the one on the Laurens' slave Robert Scipio, at times it can get a little bit boring. Flavell goes into detail about how all the various Americans knew each other and interacted with each other, including often by inter marriage. Some of this is important in showing the web of social and cultural links American colonials had in London. But a lot reads almost like a dry version of 19th century gossip, especially many sections when she's describing the "Berners Street set" that the Laurens family was a part of.
However, these flaws aside, I certainly did learn a lot about the culture of London these Americans experienced. I wouldn't recommend this for casual readers, especially not cover-to-cover. But there are certainly useful nuggets here or there, and it's a good piece of history for historians studying the colonial and Revolutionary periods.
February 4, 2013
I agree with another reviewer that the title is what held the book together--it was otherwise a hodgepodge of anecdotes and biographies of Americans in London. There were certainly interesting bits--I enjoyed learning how ignorant many Londoners were of geography "over there" and that some thought all Americans were black or mixed race.
April 12, 2011
In the middle of reading. Presents an interesting portrait of wealthy Southern American colonists and the relationship between London and the colonies.
February 26, 2019
2019-01 – When London Was Capital of America. Julie Flavell (Author) 2010. 320 Pages
This book was picked up from the library’s free shelf a few years ago. I finally got to it in my stack as a text to read during the off season of tour guiding at Historic Waynesborough. I had hoped that his book would inform, shape, and contribute to new stories and approaches to my tours at Waynesborough. The book did indeed prove helpful but as background rather than direct contribution. Much of the book centers on the issue of slavery, wealthy plantation owners in London, and London’s perceptions of the America’s. The first thing you need to understand is that “an American” in this time meant anyone from the English colonies in the New World, this includes those on the islands in the Caribbean … they were also viewed as Americans. It was definitely a Colonial mindset and point of view. There was some discussion of the mercantile system used to keep the colonies suppressed and subordinate to the motherland. What was the most interesting was the sections interspersed on race and slavery. Americans bringing their slaves to London to serve them were shocked that there were slave laws only in the colonies … the mother country did not have any. So a slave brought to England who walked away and refused to go back had more legal standing than the owner. The slave was viewed in London as a human rather than as property. A slaver attempting to recapture his slave in England could be, and some were, tried for kidnapping or unlawful detainment. This differentiating the laws in the homeland vs the laws in the colonies was eye opening to me. It bespoke of an independence even then of the colonies vs the motherland. Speaking of slaves who walked off … Blacks were a very common sight in Georgian England … prized as paid servants … as a status marker and most often treated as equals. This would change during the Industrial Revolution as the numbers of blacks in the island diminished with the loss of colonies and the Industrial Revolution pitted veracious people against each other in the job market. Much the same as happened among freemen and immigrant whites in Philadelphia and other Northern cities both at this time and after the great migration of the early 20th century. English views of America were also quite enlightening. They viewed, based on their experience of contact, they typical American as either a wealthy planter or a black. The Northern Yankees hardly registered … in fact the average Briton thought almost all Americans were black. That was their experience. A good book. A bit long in the tooth in some sections where the author seemed to be padding pages that deviated from the thesis of the book.
This book was picked up from the library’s free shelf a few years ago. I finally got to it in my stack as a text to read during the off season of tour guiding at Historic Waynesborough. I had hoped that his book would inform, shape, and contribute to new stories and approaches to my tours at Waynesborough. The book did indeed prove helpful but as background rather than direct contribution. Much of the book centers on the issue of slavery, wealthy plantation owners in London, and London’s perceptions of the America’s. The first thing you need to understand is that “an American” in this time meant anyone from the English colonies in the New World, this includes those on the islands in the Caribbean … they were also viewed as Americans. It was definitely a Colonial mindset and point of view. There was some discussion of the mercantile system used to keep the colonies suppressed and subordinate to the motherland. What was the most interesting was the sections interspersed on race and slavery. Americans bringing their slaves to London to serve them were shocked that there were slave laws only in the colonies … the mother country did not have any. So a slave brought to England who walked away and refused to go back had more legal standing than the owner. The slave was viewed in London as a human rather than as property. A slaver attempting to recapture his slave in England could be, and some were, tried for kidnapping or unlawful detainment. This differentiating the laws in the homeland vs the laws in the colonies was eye opening to me. It bespoke of an independence even then of the colonies vs the motherland. Speaking of slaves who walked off … Blacks were a very common sight in Georgian England … prized as paid servants … as a status marker and most often treated as equals. This would change during the Industrial Revolution as the numbers of blacks in the island diminished with the loss of colonies and the Industrial Revolution pitted veracious people against each other in the job market. Much the same as happened among freemen and immigrant whites in Philadelphia and other Northern cities both at this time and after the great migration of the early 20th century. English views of America were also quite enlightening. They viewed, based on their experience of contact, they typical American as either a wealthy planter or a black. The Northern Yankees hardly registered … in fact the average Briton thought almost all Americans were black. That was their experience. A good book. A bit long in the tooth in some sections where the author seemed to be padding pages that deviated from the thesis of the book.
July 19, 2022
This was a really interesting examination of what it meant to be American in the 1760s and early 1770s. It is essentially three extended case studies: of the Laurens family (Henry, the signer of the Declaration of Independence, and John, who was such a close friend of Alexander Hamilton until he was killed while serving as a Continental officer), Stephen Sayre & Benjamin Franklin. I think it’s fascinating that all four of Flavell’s main characters who would eventually side with the Patriots and independence, because all four of them are men who made their homes in London, because the heart of the British Empire is where they wanted to make their mark in the world, until the Revolutionary War led them to change their paths.
I found it particularly striking how slowly “there is an armed rebellion in New England” evolved into “there is a state of war with the Atlantic seaboard” in London, both for the government but also for the Patriots still living in the capital. Well into late 1775 and early 1776, Americans in London were returning to their homes in, say, South Carolina simply by booking a cabin on a ship travelling there from London.
I found it particularly striking how slowly “there is an armed rebellion in New England” evolved into “there is a state of war with the Atlantic seaboard” in London, both for the government but also for the Patriots still living in the capital. Well into late 1775 and early 1776, Americans in London were returning to their homes in, say, South Carolina simply by booking a cabin on a ship travelling there from London.
June 9, 2019
I enjoyed the social history aspects of the book very much. Interested to learn that many spent three weeks before entering London to get innoculated with small pox. The last few chapters about Benjamin Franklin were a nice summary of his time apent in London. I found them more critical regarding Franklin's apparent conflicts of interest then even George Goodwin's "Benjamin Franklin in London". I wish the book were longer and addressed other pre-Americans living in England. Very quick read for people interested in this area.
July 25, 2019
Just ok, enjoyed many historical facts about England & political leaders of the past, however way too many rambling facts. Very little interest for my taste.
Rushed through the pages of repeated & unimportant issues of the day.
Rushed through the pages of repeated & unimportant issues of the day.
July 14, 2022
An enthralling collection of historical vignettes of American colonists in the most exciting city of the British Empire. As an American, I loved reading a British perspective on America in the lead up to the “civil war” that was the American Revolution.
May 20, 2023
I felt the title was deceiving. It was apparent that the author did a lot of research and tried to include it all in the book. It was very dense, there were a few interesting facts, but overall just too difficult to read. I felt it was more of a text book.
September 18, 2024
A good overview on the experience of mostly upper class (and white) American experiences in London in the run-up to the revolution. Exactly what I was looking for.
February 20, 2017
I thought this book offered an insightful perpective on much-studied topics. I've read two other books specifically on Franklin's London experience, and many on London and the Georgian period. Combining them provided interesting context for both.
The choice of Henry Laurens and his clan as a case study, the emphasis on the relationship between the southern colonies and the Caribbean ones, and the examination of the role of slavery in shaping British views of the colonies all contribute to recapturing a world that didn't know the revolution was coming.
Minor quibbles are that it is a little repetitive, and I do wish she wouldn't refer to Dr. Franklin as 'Ben' all the time--maybe her friendship with him was closer than mine, but still.
The choice of Henry Laurens and his clan as a case study, the emphasis on the relationship between the southern colonies and the Caribbean ones, and the examination of the role of slavery in shaping British views of the colonies all contribute to recapturing a world that didn't know the revolution was coming.
Minor quibbles are that it is a little repetitive, and I do wish she wouldn't refer to Dr. Franklin as 'Ben' all the time--maybe her friendship with him was closer than mine, but still.
June 28, 2011
Outstanding idea; poorly executed. Propped up by the words of others (the Brontes and other contemporaries), the flimsily constructed narrative is held together by nothing more than the title. The disparate sections ranged from somewhat off-topic to rather interesting as free-standing tidbits.
August 20, 2011
The subject was interesting but the author's writing style left a lot to be desired. She tended to be repetetive and at times I felt like I was reading a college term paper.
June 22, 2013
Bogged down by detailed focus on a tiny handful of Americans - so few, that one gets by the narrowness the impression there weren't *that* many American in London and the thesis is relatively bogus!
August 14, 2015
Interesting little episodes, but not quite the payoff I was hoping for. As the other reviewers note, the book lacks an overarching argument and the episodic mash-up can get confusing at points.
June 4, 2016
If you've ever wondered what was happening on the other side of the pond just before the American Revolution, this book is for you.
March 21, 2011
Fantastic: Enjoyable history that will change how you think about early America.
June 6, 2011
Well-written, bridges scholarly and mainstream.
September 28, 2011
An interesting book about an era that is not often considered.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews