Since the building of a Roman fort (Londinium) at the end of the Thames estuary around 60BCE there has been a community of traders and soldiers. Though it it has been rebuilt by different invaders, since William the Conqueror (1166), it has been the Capital of England (and later the United Kingdom).

Beginning with the square mile that makes up the City of London, Greater London has continued to grow and expand into a city of over seven million. During that time the suburbs have been populated and created a massive cosmopolitan area in the flood plain of the Thames.

Brandon takes us through the growth of the city and the rebuilding after the devastating 1666 fire and the Blitz during WW2. During that time, London became the center of a world wide empire and the growth as the financial world center.

Thank you for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an informative and interesting read covering the large topic of the history of the city of London. This book is detailed and clearly well researched. It starts from the time of the Roman settlement and covers a range of topics such as immigration, crime, building development and key events from then up until the present day. Whilst this book covers a large amount of detail and information I found it was readable and interesting with quirky details that helped to hold my attention.

The Making of London
The People and Events That Made it Famous
by David Brandon, Alan Brooke
Pub Date 30 Mar 2023
Pen & Sword, Pen & Sword History
History | Nonfiction (Adult) | Travel



I am reviewing a copy of The Making of London through Pen & Sword and Netgalley:


In the Making of London, the reader will explore the 2000 year history of this Metropolis from the Roman settlement established 2,000 years ago in the area that came to be known as the 'Square Mile.


David Brandon, and Alan Brooks traces the process whereby it eventually emerged as the world's greatest city. London became the capital and seat of government of Britain, a centre of culture, entertainment and retailing, a major port and industrial centre and world leader in international trade, commerce and finance. The focus is largely on central London but necessarily brings in other nearby districts when events involved interaction with these.


The Making of London will allow the readers to examine a selection of major historical events, consideration is also given to some of the more unusual and quirky aspects that have contributed to making London the diverse and fascinating place it remains today. A largely chronological approach is taken which emphasises how the lives of the ordinary people were shaped by the events they witnessed such as invasions, riots and rebellions, fires, smogs, wars, epidemics and pandemics. The story embraces the apparent glamour of areas such as Mayfair and the West End but does not neglect districts stalked by crime, poverty and despair. London has always been a place of paradoxes where flaunted wealth has existed alongside appalling social deprivation. The juxtaposition of extravagance and poverty, of high culture with the lowest of low life is a recurrent theme in London's history.


I would recommend The Making of London to anyone who wishes to know more about London, and its remarkable history.


I give The Making of London five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Very dry and dense. This book seems sporadic - it delves in depth with some subjects but glosses quickly over others. There were bits here and there that were interesting, but overall, this book has a definite textbook feel to it.

Interesting history of London, packed with tons of information about one of top cities in the UK. I enjoyed the illustrations at the end, but it would have been nice if some of the more current images were in color.
Thanks to NetGalley and Pen&Sword for access to this advanced reader copy, which I voluntarily read and reviewed.

"The Making of London" is an extremely granular look into the development of London as a major metropolis. It starts with the history of London during the settlement of the ancient Romans in the city, and stretches all the way into the Covid-19 pandemic. This is a very detailed look at the development of the city in terms of social relations, public health, architecture, wars, etc.

While it was very detailed and well-researched, I did feel the book was a bit dense. It is definitely not an easy afternoon read; it is instead perhaps intended for people researching the city. I felt like the book skewed towards ancient and modern history too much. Large parts of the book were devoted to the ancient Roman settlement and from WW2-on, and it did not cover those middle centuries as much. There are some pictures at the end, but they would be better placed throughout the book in reference to specific sections and would benefit from the addition of more images to break up the wordiness of some of the paragraphs.

Although I'm always up for an engaging history book, I can't say I found it here. The subject matter has the potential to be fascinating--the history of London, with innumerable personalities, projects, and innovations! Yes, I was hoping to find much to enjoy. Unfortunately, the text is very dry and mostly maintains a very zoomed-out view of history, listing off various events under various categories but not zeroing in on anything at a closer, human-interest range. It reads like a textbook, and failed to capture my attention.