Abstract

the london journal, Vol. 47 No. 2, July 2022, 230–231 Book Review London and the Seventeenth Century: The Making of the World’s Greatest City.ByMARGAR- ETTE LINCOLN. Pp. xv + 372 + 15 illustrations. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2021. £25.00. ISBN 978-0-300-24878-4. Hardback. This introductory survey of London’s history in the seventeenth century is a really impressive achievement. Writing a history of London faces significant challenges: one is the multiplicity of jurisdictions (and hence records) in the capital. The second is its sheer size and diversity. Another is the fact that the capital was the national political arena where high politics were played out, either at Westminster, at Court, in civic institutions and (increasingly) on its streets. London was the place where most books and pamphlets were published. It contained 130 different parishes — each with their own ruling vestry — ranging from tiny wealthy City parishes of a few hundred people to bloated suburban monsters containing tens of thou- sands. It was the home of professional theatre, law courts, finance and national government, and its economy reflected its position as a national hub for both domestic and overseas trade, with a huge maritime sector and a