Liza Picard certainly isn't tired of London. The lives that once thronged its streets are the stuff of her books, and Dr Johnson's London updates her 1997 volume, Restoration London, by one hundred years or so. Samuel Pepys gives way to Samuel Johnson and James Boswell, though, entertainingly, she shows no affection for the pair. She pursues them solely for their era, stretching 30 years from 1740 to 1770, pivoted on the publication of Johnson's Dictionary in 1755. Starting with a "virtual" sedan-chair tour of the city, she proceeds to elucidate every aspect of urban life, with particular attention paid to the poor, and the "middling sort", a fledgling middle class. This goes some way to redressing a balance which historically has tended to favour the rich and famous, who left behind the majority of buildings and ephemera.

Picard's conversational style, as bursting with rhetorical questions as a primary teacher, belies the breadth of her reading and research. Her informality breathes life into dry descriptions, and her sharp eye lends itself to shrewd selection from source passages. The familiarity of this Blackadder-esque London is borne out by its physical dimensions, with parks, hospitals and even bridges already starting to become recognisable to a contemporary eye, as well as its phenomena, such as lottery tickets and road rage. Although Picard sways between tenses with a giddy ease, adding a sprinkling of her own curious observations, her assimilation of information renders her prose sprightly, whether she be observing a meal in "real time", or delighting in the medical remedies, often involving quite the worst ingredients (though it's useful to know that powdered roast mouse is a reliable cure for incontinence). Saving the best to last, the concluding pages offer a cost of living index, which, as Picard admits, almost renders the book redundant. From a 1/2d half-loaf of bread to a £64,000 reward, it evocatively summarises the victuals and commodities of the time, and closes a bustling, collective portrait of the city not just of Johnson, but also of Henry Fielding, Tobias Smollett and William Hogarth.--David Vincent

Excellent - and a good read, 15 Jan 2008
I have enjoyed this book. It is valuable whether you are researching 18th century English history, of whether you just want to immerse yourself in the atmosphere and activities of the times. Focus is more on what normal men and women got up to rather than on the kings and queens and wars and so on (the kind of thing that is perhaps more usual for history books). But this is not just a history book. It is entertaining as well. It is written without aloofness or any hint of stuffiness, and has humour and wit to lighten the load. Academic, well researched and yet warm and full of humanity. What a combination!

Absorbing and fascinating, 14 Jun 2007
This is a fascinating and well-researched book that gives you interesting snippets about how life was lived between 1740 and 1770. Particularly interesting is her use of first hand accounts of daily life in the time, told by foreign visitors, who must have viewed the customs as strangely as we do looking back.

My main criticism is that the subject matter is perhaps too broad, which means that Picard barely scratches the surface of some of the most interesting topics - transport, the lives of the wealthy, shopping etc - but her book is good enough to encourage the reader to conduct their own research into these areas.

London 1740-1770, 06 Sep 2006
I stumbled on Liza Picard's books quite by chance. After looking at the publishing date in some of the books it is apparent some of them have been around for several years. I am now recommending them to anyone and everyone and I am so glad I stumbled across the first one I read on a rainy afternoon, lonely and far away from home. I have now read them all.

As soon as you start to read the book it becomes apparent that the author is passionate about her subject and wants the reader to enjoy the reading experience as much as she has in the writing of it. Liza Picard presents an enthralling picture of how life in London was really lived. The book is about the period from 1740 to 1770 when many great men walked the streets of London, among them Hogarth, Fielding and Dr Johnson. Names that are well known in history, but the author puts meat on the bones and brings these people to life for the enjoyment of the reader.

Liza Picard was born in 1927. She read law and qualified as a barrister but did not practice. Quite where she gleaned all this information from I am not sure. That it was a labour of love is obvious to anyone who reads her books and I for one am grateful.

Excellent Introduction to a wonderful age of history, 12 Jul 2005
Liza Picard has effectively captured the spirit of an age of contrasts - at once modern, sometimes dramatically so in matters of commerce and the media - and yet still medieval in areas like criminal justice. Well worth a read!

Engaging, but ultimately lightweight, 20 May 2003
I was looking forward to this book and, to some extent, enjoyed reading it. However, I've a few criticisms. Firstly, it seemed to be drawn from a relatively limited number of souces. Whilst books like this all tend to lack true scholarly rigour, this one was really quite thinly researched. Secondly, and as a result no doubt, there was plenty of repetition in it. The same stories appeared several times to illustrate similar points. Finally, the writing style was a little stilted at times.

Althogether a bit disappointing, although a tolerable read.