London and beyond

This volume presents new research on key themes in the history of London and other European towns and cities, from the middle ages onwards. The essays brought together here celebrate the contribution to scholarship of Derek Keene, founding director of the Centre for Metropolitan History, and until 2008 Leverhulme Professor of Comparative Metropolitan History at the Institute of Historical Research, London. They offer new perspectives on a range of questions, with several resulting from major projects led or inspired by Professor Keene. The themes of the volume are central to the work of many urban historians today: the complex relationships between urban centres and their hinterlands; the importance of luxury goods and the transfer of new skills and technologies; the communal aspects of metropolitan life displayed in suburbs, religious groups and trans-national 'portable communities'; urban governance, considered through the lens of political relationships between institutions, cities and royal governments, and through studies of major initiatives in urban planning and infrastructure; and the effects of environmental changes that continue to shape cities today. The essays offer comparative perspectives on London's rich history, as well as studies of other cities, including Dublin, Bruges, Ghent, and Paris. These essays form a rich resource for scholars of British and European urban history, as well as for historians of London and the general reader.