Stoke Newington has long been one of London's most intriguing and
radical areas. Famous residents included Daniel Defoe, Mary
Wollstonecraft and Edgar Allan Poe, and it was home to a variety of
religious dissenting groups, such as Puritans, Congregationalists,
Baptists, Presbyterians and Quakers. In more recent years, it was
associated with the Kray Twins, the Angry Brigade and the Provisional
IRA, as well as with a range of creative individuals including Harold
Pinter, Paul Foot and Marc Bolan.
Today, the neighbourhood is inhabited by a richly eclectic blend of
nationalities and cultures. It is a home for inner-city dwellers of all
types, from writers and artists to musicians, journalists and actors.
Its appeal has led to its contemporary gentrification, making it a
rather different place to the somewhat down-at-heel neighbourhood of the
1960s and 1970s.
This book reveals, through anecdote, historical fact and cultural
insight, how this often perverse, argumentative yet tolerant 'village'
has become today's fashionable and desirable Stoke Newington.