Health & Fitness
The Librarian's Shelf: London Under by Peter Ackroyd
Librarian Lisa Guidarini reviews Peter Ackroyd's 'London Under: The Secret History Beneath the Streets.'
I've had a fascination with London as long as I can remember. An unashamedly rabid Anglophile, there's little about the British Isles I don't find interesting. Normally my interests lie above ground, concerning the history and literature of the Victorian period especially, but I couldn't turn down the chance to read Ackroyd's book about the city below, from tunnels dug by the Romans (now disappeared, oddly enough) to all that's come after.We're all aware of the London Tube, their subway system, but the underground has served a far more varied history than just that. Ancient crypts, sewers and even rivers that previously flowed above ground lurk beneath, as well as an abandoned underground prison (the House of Detention), believed to be haunted, located under what is now Clerkenwell Green. In the Victorian period the poor and indigent searched the sewers for coins dropped through sewer grates, an illegal activity conducted out of desperation and the need to put bread on the table. Unsurprisingly, graves have also been discovered, many Anglo-Saxon and thousands from the Roman period, as the foundations for buildings have been dug and long-covered ground excavated. More recently, during WW II's many blitzes Londoners retreated underground as a place of safety."Dead stations are also known as "ghost stations," and of course one or two of them have been credited wraiths and apparitions. Ghosts are quite at home in the underworld. The shadows of the dead have always been supposed to walk beneath the surface of the earth. The Underground system passes through many burial grounds and plague pits. Deaths have occurred in the course of construction. Murders, and suicides, have occurred on the various lines.So the ghosts are supposed to walk. A phantom of a man has been seen by various station officials on the platforms of Covent Garden; he is described as "a slim oval-faced man wearing a light grey suit and white glasses." The sound of running steps has often been heard at Elephant and Castle, with the additional claim that the steps always seem to be running towards those who hear them... There have often been reports of the reflection of a face in the window, when no one is sitting in the opposite seats."- from London UnderRather than scaring me away, stories like this are likely to draw me in, much to the dismay and bafflement of my children. I'm one to visit "haunted" locations - cemeteries, mostly - taking photos to show my children the lack of apparitions I mysteriously didn't see when I took the pictures. I'd have a positive field day in the London underground. Any ghosts running toward me would only be a bonus. Some of the tunnels have been converted, used in the Tube system, but many areas still lie either blocked off or simply unused. One of my favorite facts, which I enjoyed using to gross out my family, is that modern day walls of the sewers are covered with 30 to 40 inches of fat from the fast food Londoners consume. Let that sink in for a minute. Thirty to forty inches of fat! Frankly, if anything could keep me from visiting the tunnels it wouldn't be the ghosts. I'd be much more inclined to fear the sight (and smell) of all that fat. And it's more likely I'd die by slipping in it, hitting my head on the stones, than of fright from a passing ghost.I highly recommend London Under: The Secret Story Beneath the Streets to anyone as fascinated by history (and the occasional gross fact) as I am. If you'd prefer a more standard work about this city Peter Ackroyd's taken care of that, as well, in his London: The Biography, which I've had on my reading list for years. He's a master of historical writing, as well as a novelist. His style is friendly and approachable, never overly academic, geared toward those like myself who just want the down and dirty. And if there's anything fitting that description, it's definitely London Under. By the way, if you're in the area and would like to see these tunnels yourself, there are tours. I'm sure they don't include the actual sewers but rather the unusued, forgotten, thoroughly fascinating areas. I'd bet money they throw in a ghost story or two, as well. And, if you go, come by and show me your pictures. I'd love to see them!Similar books, from Ackroyd's bibliography:Barton, Nicholas: The Lost Rivers of London (1962)Bell, W.G.: Unknown London (1919)Brandon, David and Brooke, Alan: Haunted London Underground (2008)Hayes, Ian, Sheldon, Harvey and Hannigan, Leslie (editors): London Under Ground: The Archaeology of a City (2000)And many, many others.More information about author Peter Ackroyd, and his many books, can be found here.- Lisa Guidarini