London has been the inspiration for many writers, but in this fascinating new work, Stephen Smith explores the life and history of this great city from an unusual and original angle: underneath it.
Beginning with the buried rivers beneath the capital - the Fleet, the Westbourne, the wonderfully named Earl's Sluice - and ending in the tunnels beneath the Thames Barrier, Underground London is a remarkable journey into a subterranean world.
It is a journey that finds Stephen Smith descending into St Andrew's crypt, where the dead are being raised; joining miners digging tunnels in deepest Cricklewood; and exploring the culverts beneath Hampton Court, a remarkable feat of engineering said to have been used as a secret passageway for Henry VIII's mistresses.
Fresh, funny and impeccably researched, 'Underground London' is "alternative" history at its best - an illuminating glimpse into the hidden world beneath our feet.
