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London Under
London Under: The Secret History Beneath the Streets | Peter Ackroyd
11 posts | 13 read | 1 reading | 9 to read
London Under is a wonderful, atmospheric, imaginative, oozing short study of everything that goes on under London, from original springs and streams and Roman amphitheaters to Victorian sewers, gang hideouts, and modern tube stations. The depths below are hot, warmer than the surface, and this book tunnels down through the geological layers, meeting the creatures, real and fictional, that dwell in darknessrats and eels, monsters and ghosts. When the Undergrounds Metropolitan Line was opened in 1864, the guards asked for permission to grow beards to protect themselves against the sulfurous fumes, and named their engines after tyrantsCzar, Kaiser, Moguland even Pluto, god of the underworld. To go under London is to penetrate history, to enter a hidden world. As Ackroyd puts it, The vastness of the space, a second earth, elicits sensations of wonder and of terror. It partakes of myth and dream in equal measure. From the Hardcover edition.
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TheAromaofBooks
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And here's a little #ThingsInCommon update for the last few books @Clwojick !!

I also had two DNFs this past weekend, so five total books off the TBR, plus another one I just finished this morning. I've fallen completely off the bandwagon with North & South and Gone With the Wind, but am picking those back up today. Feels good to be getting back in the groove!!!

Clwojick Woohoo! ❤️🔥 2y
60 likes1 comment
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TheAromaofBooks
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I was going to go with “two-word titles“ and then realized that literally both of these authors are named Peter so that seemed obvious 😂

#ThingsInCommon @Clwojick

Cinfhen Well played 👍🏽🎉 2y
Clwojick Woohoo! Way to go! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 2y
57 likes2 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
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Mehso-so

I enjoy nonfiction about random topics, so a book focused on the London under London sounded like a good fit for me. Unfortunately, I found this book ultimately disappointing, mainly because Ackroyd didn't particularly take the time to organize his information or go in depth about many of the things he mentioned. Instead, this book felt very fragmentary, almost like an outline for a book instead of the actual book. It's only 205 very small pages ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) and contains no maps! He would toss out intriguing factoids, but never follow up on them. In the end, I just found myself wanting more. This book didn't really teach me anything, and Ackroyd seemed more interested in emphasizing (constantly) how “mysterious“ the underground is and how it's associated with things like death and darkness, yet also safety and security... but then just kind of wandering away without really getting into it. ⬇ 2y
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) There is a lot of potential here, and this wasn't a BAD book per se, as I did find bits of it interesting, I just wish that this book was about twice as long and full of maps! 😂

#MtTBR
#Panton2022 @Clwojick
#AwesomeApril - 1037/1200pgs @Andrew65
2y
Clwojick Woohoo! 👏🏻👏🏻 2y
Andrew65 Well done 👏👏👏 2y
57 likes4 comments
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Leftcoastzen
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Pickpick

#bookspin 1 #NutsInMay Interesting short read on what‘s under London.Forgotten & ruined rivers , catacombs, Roman tiles ,layers & layers of history.
Illustrations throughout.And don‘t you love when they mention another book in a book?Murdoch writes of a bar called The Hole in the Wall in the underground in Sloane Square, and the excitement of drinking with an underground crowd.A Word Child still on my TBR.

Andrew65 London‘s underground rivers are fascinating. Nicci French‘s Frieda Klein Series takes in a different one of these rivers in each book. 4y
TheAromaofBooks This one sound so interesting!! Stacked! 4y
Leftcoastzen @Andrew65 thanks for the tip , I put the first book in the series on ebook hold ! 4y
51 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Leftcoastzen
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#BookSpinBonanza London Under was my #BookSpin number 1 and Ready Player One #DoubleSpin number 3
Probably won‘t get through my whole stack , but seems I should be able to get through these two in May.I have read a lot about the New York Subway systems, looking forward to this history of the tubes , Victorian sewers, gang hideouts,and more.

TheAromaofBooks Oh wow, that sounds like a super fun nonfiction read! Can't wait to hear your thoughts! 4y
50 likes1 stack add1 comment
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sparrowssavvy
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Pickpick

A great history of the underground city of London. Well written and very interesting!

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MallenNC
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The thought of what is #underground in a city with so much history and so many people is pretty fascinating. (I took the top photo when I was there in March. The only underground I visited was the Tube.) #LetsTravelJuly

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 📚❤️📚 5y
OriginalCyn620 Love that pic! ❤️ 5y
24 likes2 comments
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mkrgrs
Mehso-so

This is a series of historical anecdotes and interesting facts strung together with prose rather than a true history book. Ackroyd likes to list things about subterranean London that are interesting, but someone who is interested in a true history of these spaces will be disappointed. Nonetheless, it‘s a quick read and worth the time.

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Peterdamien
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vivastory Reminds me of Clayton Eshleman's poetic exploration of the Lascaux cave paintings 7y
14 likes1 comment
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DeborahSmall
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#bookmail one for me and one for Sophie 📚❤️

MicheleinPhilly Does that say "Free Hospital Dinner Inside" or are my eyes in worse shape than I thought? ? 7y
DeborahSmall @MicheleinPhilly I'm now in the car so had to squint real hard, but yeah I think that's exactly what it says! I'll investigate further when I'm home tonight ? @saresmoore this one is only Qd for hardback on Amazon UK. Let me know if his books are as good a price over there if not I'll collect a few for Lucy and post them ? 7y
saresmoore Thank you so much! I just sent you an email. 😘♥️♥️ 7y
DeborahSmall @saresmoore no problem at all! 💕😘 7y
62 likes4 comments
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Joriebooks
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#FunFridayPhoto. I use index cards for a bookmark. By the time I'm done with one, it is falling apart and riddled with notes.

JoeStalksBeck ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️📖 8y
MrBook Wow! Great stack! 8y
8 likes2 comments