Most of us, when we think of Victorian London, think of the work of Charles Dickens. Historian Judith Flanders' uses Dickens' words to paint a... In September 1777, Samuel Johnson declared to his ...

Today the word "Dickensian," when used to describe social conditions, denotes extreme squalor. Judith Flanders's erudite and vivid look at 19th-century London is a reminder that what Charles ...

Charles Dickens grimly portrayed Londoners as people resigned to hardscrabble living, ubiquitous filth, and prevalent violence, and Flanders (The Invention of Murder) successfully recreates the feel ...

In September 1777, Samuel Johnson declared to his friend James Boswell, "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life." Johnson actually was referring to his hectic social calendar, but he did ...

Part one: The city wakes. 1810 : The Berners Street Hoax ; Early to rise ; On the road ; Travelling (mostly) hopefully ; In and out of London -- Part two: Staying alive. 1861 : The Tooley Street Fire ...