In a panoramic survey of the Victorian Age, this work describes the men and women who brought the modern age into being. The capitalist world was challenged by the ideas of such men as Karl Marx, William Morris and George Bernard Shaw - here they are. Here are also the lofty and famous and here too are the poor and the obscure.

A novel that begins as a quirk or obsession (a 'maggot' in the archaic sense of the word) which found its setting in the second wave of Protestant Dissent in England. It takes shape as a mystery - an investigation of unaccountable motives and deeds - which leads through beguiling paths to a starling vision at its centre.

In this novel the light and the dark sides of 19th-century London flow into each other, attracting the attention of famous names such as Marx and Gissing, but also of less well-known characters, who play a significant role in a tale that is a mixture of fable, adventure and Gothic comedy.

Describes London from the time of the Druids to the beginning of the twenty-first century, noting magnificence in both epochs. This title includes chapters on the history of silence and the history of light, the history of childhood and the history of suicide, the history of Cockney speech and the history of drink.

Sister Clarice, a nun in the House of St Mary at Clerkenwell, experiences visions. This novel begins with The Nun's Tale , and continues with the The Friar's Tale , The Merchant's Tale and The Clerk's Tale , building a portrait of medieval London, where people are disenchanted by the Church.

First published in 1990, this shorter edition takes the reader into the life of one of the world's greatest writers.