Did you know?In 1884 the Circle Line opened and was described in The Times as 'a form of mild torture which no person would undergo if he could conveniently help it.'According to one psychologist, Tube commuters can experience greater levels of stress than a police officer facing a rioting mob or even a fighter pilot going into a dogfight.Underground trains have only twice been used to transport deceased people in coffins: William Gladston...

The West End of London has long been a magnet to those attracted by impressive architecture and grand streets and squares. This detailed book delves deep into its eight distinctive areas, to present the stories behind the façades of buildings old and new, taking the reader down side streets into corners that even Londoners tend to miss to reveal who lived where, and how a whole new London developed to the west of the Roman-walled medieval city to evolve into the gilded 'we...

The streetscape of London's historic square mile has been evolving for centuries, but the City's busy commercial heart still boasts an extensive network of narrow passages and alleyways, secret squares and half-hidden courtyards.Using his wealth of local knowledge, historian David Long guides you through these ancient rights of passage – many dating back to medieval times or earlier – their evocative names recalling old taverns, notable individuals and City traditi...

People love hearing about a grisly murder; gasping at the gory details, wondering about the motives, deducing who did it. This macabre fascination is nothing new. In the past racehorses, greyhounds and even a ship have been named after some of the most notorious murderers, and it doesn't look like our interest is waning any time soon. London Murders is a unique guidebook that explores the darker side of London?s history, pinpointing the exact locations of the bloodiest, most intriguing and...

The stories behind the100 strangest and most enigmatic buildings of London are unveiled in this informative review. The structures addressed range from public works to little-known private holdings, and include a hidden 300ft tower in Kensington and a medieval hall in Chelsea that was once home to a king before being moved brick by brick from the city to escape demolition. Other structures include an arts center built of old shipping containers as well as acres of secret underground govern...

Filled with fascinating factoids, this distinctive reference uncovers the hidden stories, curious histories, and comic coincidences behinds dozens of locations around the city of London. The sites addressed include the extensive networks of tunnels running beneath high street pavements; secret transport and signalling networks criss-crossing the metropolis; a street where you can legally drive on the right; and a future Russian Tsar working incognito in an English naval dockyard. This is t...

Beyond the Gatehouse is a lighthearted, witty but factual biographical account of the eccentric lifestyles of the builders and residents of some of England's best-known country houses.Extraordinary buildings require extraordinary people, and over the centuries our historic houses have produced more than their fair share of oddballs. Insulated from the outside world by vast wealth, rolling acres and the social status that a title implies, aristocrats have a...

The bustling metropolis of London is home to scores of unusual and unique places and spaces. In this feast of peculiarities, author David Long guides you off the beaten path and allows you under the skin of the hidden city that is modern-day London, revealing a new side to the capital you thought you knew.

Why is Henry Ford a giant? Because he put the world on wheels. Henry Ford did not invent the motor car, nor did he invent the assembly line or mass production. But more than anyone before or since he is remembered as the man who almost singlehandedly took an expensive contraption of doubtful utility and recast it as a machine which changed the world forever. A Michigan farmer's son who became a dollar billionaire, a ruthlessly single-minded autocrat who became a folk hero, a pacifist who w...

Millions live there, millions more visit each year—but how many really know London? Do you know when Big Ben first bonged—or even who Ben was? Why the River Thames is so-called? Which top Nazi was locked up in the Tower? Or what runs through the more than 50 miles of train-size tunnels which ring the city, stretch further than the Channel Tunnel and lie deeper than the Tube—and, no, the answer's not trains. The world's first celebrity chef, its oldest club, the worst ever mockney accent, a...

An insider's guide to the many hidden nooks and crannies of London, and the fascinating stories behind them, with a foreword by the Lord Mayor of LondonThe real London is often to be found not in its more famous streets and squares but in the small and obscure places which so many visitors miss. David Long uncovers these forgotten locations and brings to life their fascinating history. The streetscape of London's historic square mile has been evolving for c...

Millions live there, millions more visit each year – but how many really know London?Find out:How New York's famous Central Park came to be modelled on a seventeenth-century London squareWhen Primrose Hill almost gained a pyramid even larger than the Great Pyramid of CheopsWhy about 640 people came to be drowned in the Thames in a single nightWhat the royal family might do to escape London if the balloon ever goes up...