This is an authoritative and accessible social and political history of London in the 20th century. Full of anecdotes, the book presents London as a city of sustained (and sometimes delicately balanced) paradox, and of incomparably diverse geography and peoples. From its fin-de-siecle imperial splendour (amidst pockets of appalling poverty) to its revitalized swinging status (tainted by racial tension) today, London has been a consistently fascinating city. The book attempts to account for all its facets.