商品簡介
Drawing on images that shaped the popular perception of British towns and cities between 1780 and 1880, Beyond the metropolis challenges enduring misconceptions about urbanisation through the nineteenth century. It provides a timely and persuasive re-evaluation of the British city, its changing form, representation and impact during this period.
Over the past century, historical reality has merged seamlessly with mythology, literature and caricature to create a dramatic but utterly misleading representation of our urban past. Dark satanic mills, cobbled streets and cholera have become common shorthand for the nineteenth century British city. Yet, there is little to suggest that the Urban Renaissance identified by Peter Borsay ended in 1770 or that every city in Britain experienced the same topographical consequences of expansion.
Using engaging and diverse evidence, including souvenirs, pocket panoramas, advertisements and ceramics, this book investigates the relationship between pictorial convention, visual innovation and urban identity. Subjects including public space, popular protest, civic identity and residential development are approached from unfamiliar vantage points provided by hitherto under-researched sources. In contrast to myriad publications that address London exclusively, Beyond the metropolis examines images that reflect the growing political, social and cultural significance of British towns and cities in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. Covering locations from Bristol to Leeds, Glasgow to Birmingham and Manchester to Swansea, it reveals a complex and compelling new narrative of British urbanisation.
With general appeal for historians, planners and politicians alike, this book will be of particular interest to students and lecturers in British social and urban history / historical geography and art history.
作者簡介
Katy Layton-Jones is a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Urban History, University of Leicester and an Associate Lecturer at the Open University
