"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in
London all that life can afford." - Samuel Johnson
From plagues and poverty to financial scandals, serial killers to public
executions, mad monarchs to barbaric mental asylums, Bloody History of
London reaches deeply into the city's long history and ranges widely
across the social, political and cultural life of the metropolis.
Founded by the Romans and attacked by the Vikings, London grew to become
an immense trading city. Included here are tales of medieval torture in
the Tower, burnings at the stake during the Reformation and
Counter-Reformation, the merry debauchery of the Restoration and the
market crash of the South Sea Bubble. From political skullduggery among
the Tudors to the Cold War Profumo scandal and assassination of Georgy
Markov, the book is a lively account across almost 2,000 years of London
history. Immensely entertaining and illustrated with 180 color and black
& white artworks, Bloody History of London is an engaging and highly
informative exploration of the highlights of London lowlife and the
depravities of London's high life.