|
Dr. Johnson's London: Coffee-Houses and Climbing Boys, Medicine, Toothpaste and Gin, Poverty and Press-Gangs, Freakshows and Female Education | 
| Author: Liza Picard
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $11.19
You Save: $8.76 (44%)
New (18) Used (10) from $8.58
Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 199343
Media: Paperback
Pages: 408
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 0312291531
Dewey Decimal Number: 941
EAN: 9780312291532
ASIN: 0312291531
Publication Date: August 21, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New and unread, Has some bent pages from storage
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The practical realities of everyday life are rarely described in history books. To remedy this, and to satisfy her own curiosity about the lives of our ancestors, Liza Picard immersed herself in contemporary sources - diaries and journals, almanacs and newspapers, government papers and reports, advice books and memoirs - to examine the substance of life in mid-18th century London. The fascinating result of her research, Dr. Johnson's London introduces the reader to every facet of that period: from houses and gardens to transport and traffic; from occupations and work to pleasure and amusements; from health and medicine to sex, food, and fashion. Stops along the way focus on education, etiquette, public executions as popular entertainment, and a melange of other historical curiosities.
This book spans the period from 1740 to 1770-very much the city of Dr. Johnson, who published his great Dictionary in 1755. It starts when the gin craze was gaining ground and ends just before America ceased being a colony. In its enthralling review of an exhilarating era, Dr. Johnson's London brilliantly records the strangeness and individuality of the past--and continually reminds us of parallels with the present day.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 Dr. Johnson's point of view, expressed via Liza Picard June 28, 2007
Lin (Puget Sound)
I'm enjoying this book! I'm almost done with it and I am finding the information very interesting.
I've always wanted to know what London was like back in the pre-Victorian days and this book attempts to do just that.
Since the excerpts were taken from actual written documentations (eg: Dr. Johnson's diaries,etc.)---in other words, a person that was actually there. Liza Picard was merely the person that compiled all the information for this book.
Therefore, I'm reading this book by keeping this fact in mind.
The language expressed in this book may sound "old fashioned" because most of the excerpts were written by a pre-Victorian Era person, and also that person lived in London. Thus, there is a difference between reading a book written today in modern English, as opposed to the written English style of a century ago. (I actually enjoyed reading the written "old fashioned" English excerpts).
There are not alot of photos in this book, so if you are looking for a picture book ,then this book may not be of your liking.
Instead, this book is categorized into various chapters regarding pre-Victorian London (ie:such as the political occurences of the times, or for example the medical view points of a century ago, etc...). Each chapter discusses the aspects of "old" London, as seen through the eyes of the people that were there at that time.
 Eminently Readable History January 9, 2007
John the Reader (Orlando, FL)
New to Liza Picard's writing I so enjoyed this very readable historian I ordered the rest of her titles. The book portrays the lives of the common 'man in the street' as well as many facts of the period.
As a regular reader of History, I find Liza's slightly lighter approach refreshing - even her footnotes are humorous and enlighten the reader, rather than confuse.
A fascinating insight to a city I love.
Eighteenth Century London: A facinating place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there! January 4, 2007
Gerald E. Peterson
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book looks deep beneath the surface of London society during the Age of Enlightment and describes in minute detail what life was really like for one and all, from the lowest street urchin to the royal family. The daily struggle for existence by London's residents is covered -- all those unsavory things you probably didn't learn in history class. Overflowing cespits, Orphans apprentenced into professions where an early death from industrial pollutants was a near certainty, bakeries that regularly adulterated their bread with caulk, these are just a few of the many examples found on these pages. No detail is overlooked: What they wore, what they did for fun, the cost of living, the cost of dying, the capricious justice system under which a significant number of lawbreakers managed to avoid punishment, even for murder, while an unlucky few were hanged for crimes that today would draw only a small fine.
I highly recommend Dr. Johnson's London to anyone who is looking for an in-depth look at Georgian London.
London 1740-1770 September 6, 2006
J. Chippindale (England)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I stumbled on Liza Picard's books quite by chance. After looking at the publishing date in some of the books it is apparent some of them have been around for several years. I am now recommending them to anyone and everyone and I am so glad I stumbled across the first one I read on a rainy afternoon, lonely and far away from home. I have now read them all.
As soon as you start to read the book it becomes apparent that the author is passionate about her subject and wants the reader to enjoy the reading experience as much as she has in the writing of it. Liza Picard presents an enthralling picture of how life in London was really lived. The book is about the period from 1740 to 1770 when many great men walked the streets of London, among them Hogarth, Fielding and Dr Johnson. Names that are well known in history, but the author puts meat on the bones and brings these people to life for the enjoyment of the reader.
Liza Picard was born in 1927. She read law and qualified as a barrister but did not practice. Quite where she gleaned all this information from I am not sure. That it was a labour of love is obvious to anyone who reads her books and I for one am grateful.
About the era of Samuel Johnson, not about Johnson himself August 15, 2005
saskatoonguy (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Picard covers an era of British social history, the 1700s, that has received relatively little attention. The book is divided into four parts: The first part covers London's infrastructure, and the other three parts cover the three major socioeconomic categories: poor, "middling," and rich, although the rich get rather little page space. There are over 50 illustrations.
This book is reminiscent of an encyclopedia: For each heading there is a description of one-to-five paragraphs, making this an easy book to jump around in as the spirit moves you. A less charitable description would be to say that the style is disjointed. The amount of detail is impressive, and the reader is given a thorough introduction to daily life of that era. The author often launches into remarks that are intended to be humorous. I imagine this was done so the book would not be dry reading, but her comments often seem gratuitous or disruptive to the flow of the material. There is very little here specifically about Samuel Johnson; this is a book about his era, not about him.
I preferred a very similar book, "1700: Scenes from London Life" by Maureen Waller. Waller's book covers the identical material (50 years earlier) and has a more cohesive style of writing.
|
|
|
 Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
