London

An illustrated chronological survey traces the city's development from Roman and Saxon origins through Plantagenet, Tudor, Stuart, and Georgian stages, emphasizing streets, buildings, institutions, and everyday people rather than high political narrative. Using city records, contemporary tracts, household accounts, maps, and archaeological finds, the author reconstructs market life, guilds and companies, churches and monasteries, docks and trades, public ceremonies, and ordinary domestic practice, and examines the effects of plagues and major conflagrations. Chapters blend descriptive vignettes and documentary detail to recover the appearance, occupations, and rituals of urban life across centuries.