London

Besant, Walter, 1836-1901Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 704K words
Chapters: 71

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.London by Walter BesantAuthor: Besant, Walter, 1836-1901,Language: English, Class: DA: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Great Britain, Ireland, Central Europe, Release Date: May 25, 2014

Editor's review

This book is a London city reader written by Walter Besant, a public-domain history title released free in its original English by Project Gutenberg. Its value lies not in guidebook-style information but in the London seen through a Victorian literary eye: cityscape, social class, public life, and historical anecdote interwoven, in prose carrying a distinct period flavor. For readers studying British urban history, nineteenth-century society and culture, or practicing long-form English reading, it is a freely available primary popular source. Read it as a period slice, not a modern guide, and distinguish the author's personal observations from verifiable fact. Suitable as supplementary reading for urban history courses, or for selected chapters alongside the English original, read with maps and historical background for comparison to better appreciate its value as historical material.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in nineteenth-century London urban history and social life
Students needing free English public-domain source material to supplement coursework
English learners wishing to practice reading with accessible long-form English

Not a good fit for

Travelers seeking practical contemporary London information such as transport and accommodation
Rigorous researchers expecting systematic academic argument or extensive annotation
Beginning English readers who struggle with long sentences and archaic expressions

Reading tips

Start with the table of contents to locate topics of interest, then read by topic rather than cover to cover.
Read alongside historical maps of London, placing the book's place names and districts in real space.
Mark archaic expressions and look them up later, keeping reading rhythm and reviewing them afterward.
Read in comparison with other urban histories to distinguish the author's personal observations from historical fact.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable as a London travel guide?

No. It is a London city reader by an author of a century ago, focused on history and social life, with no contemporary transport, accommodation, or fare information. For travel, it can only serve as background reading to cultivate a feel for the city's history; practical matters still require current guides.

With only basic English, can I read this book?

You can try selected reading, but it is not suitable as introductory material. The text is nineteenth-century English with long sentences and period usage. Start with short chapters, use a dictionary and background material, and focus on grasping the general meaning and impressions of the city rather than examining every word.

What is this book's relationship to Project Gutenberg?

It is one of the public-domain ebooks released free by Project Gutenberg. The project provides digitized works whose copyright has entered the public domain; this book is one of them, and readers can obtain the original English free, with version details per the release page.

What knowledge can I gain from this book?

Mainly impressions of nineteenth-century London's cityscape, social classes, and public life, along with the narrative perspective of the author's era. It helps understand how Britons then viewed their capital, but specific historical facts need cross-checking with other sources and should not be treated alone as authoritative.

Comments

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About the author

Besant, Walter, 1836-1901 Author

Walter Besant (1836–1901) was an English author whose writings span fiction, history, and works on the city, with 23 titles held in this collection. Judging from the works listed here, his writing is clearly centred on the local history and urban memory of London. He produced a two-volume Mediæval London, covering its historical and social as well as its ecclesiastical aspects, and period-based surveys such as London in the Time of the Stuarts and Early London: Prehistoric, Roman, Saxon and Norman. He also devoted separate books to particular districts—Westminster, East London, and London City—and wrote The History of London. These works are marked by solid local antiquarian research and a wealth of anecdote, and will appeal to readers interested in London's urban development and British social and cultural history. Public information on the details of his life is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.