From Manchester's deadly cotton works to London's literary salons, a brilliant exploration of how the Victorians created the modern city Since Charles Dickens first described Coketown inHard Times, the nineteenth-century city, born of the industrial revolution, has been a byword for deprivation, pollution, and criminality. Yet, as historian Tristram Hunt argues in this powerful new history, the Coketowns of the 1800s were far more than a monstrous landscape of factories and tenements. By 1851, more than half of Britain's population lived in cities, and even as these pioneers confronted a frightening new way of life, they produced an urban flowering that would influence the shape of cities for generations to come. Drawing on diaries, newspapers, and classic works of fiction, Hunt shows how the Victorians translated their energy and ambition into realizing an astonishingly grand vision of the utopian city on a hill--the new Jerusalem. He surveys the great civic creations, from town halls to city squares, sidewalks, and even sewers, to reveal a story of middle-class power and prosperity and the liberating mission of city life. Vowing to emulate the city-states of Renaissance Italy, the Victorians worked to turn even the smokestacks of Manchester and Birmingham into sites of freedom and art. And they succeeded--until twentieth-century decline transformed wealthy metropolises into dangerous inner cities. An original history of proud cities and confident citizens,Building Jerusalemdepicts an unrivaled era that produced one of the great urban civilizations of Western history. Born in 1974,Tristram Huntteaches modern British history at the University of London. He writes political and cultural commentary for theLos Angeles TimesandTime, and has authored numerous radio and television series for the BBC and Channel 4. Since Charles Dickens first described Coketown inHard Times, the Victorian city, born of the industrial revolution, has been a byword for deprivation, pollution, and criminality, depicted to this day as a monstrous landscape of factories, tenements, and disease. Yet, as historian Tristram Hunt argues, the Coketowns of the 1800s were far more than uncontrolled industrial sprawl. By 1851, more than half of Britain's population lived in cities, and even as these urban pioneers confronted an often terrifying new way of life, they produced an incredible flowering that would influence the shape of cities around the world for generations to come. Drawing on private diaries, provincial newspapers, and classic works of fiction, Hunt documents the Victorians' great energy and aspirations and shows how their ambition translated into an astonishingly grand vision of the utopian city on a hill--the new Jerusalem. He surveys the great civic creations, from town halls to city squares, sidewalks, and even sewers, to reveal a story of middle-class power and prosperity and the liberating mission of city life. Vowing to emulate the great city-states of Renaissance Italy with an ethos of civic pride and spurred by municipal rivalry, the Victorians did their best to turn even the smokestacks of Manchester and Birmingham into sites of hard work, freedom, and art. And they succeeded--until the twentieth century, when the loss of civic pride and the collapse of urban confidence transformed wealthy metropolises into dangerous inner cities. A history of proud cities and confident citizens,Building Jerusalemdepicts an unrivalled era that produced one of the great urban civilizations of Western history.

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