A masterpiece of local history, by the Queen of the genre; Gillian Tindall has acquired a devoted readership through her lovingly researched works, such as the prize-winning ” The House” by the Thames & ” Celestine: Voices from a French Village”. A journey through time: from a scattering of cottages along a pre-roman horse track, to a medieval parish & staging post for travellers, onwards into a prosperous Tudor village favoured by gentlemen for their country seats & an 18th century resort of pleasure gardens eventually transformed by a warren of railway lines into a thickly populated working-class district. Fragments of this past can still be found by the observant eye. This is one of a precious handful of books (such as Montaillou & Akenfield) that in their precise examination of a particular locality open our understanding of the universal themes of the past. In this case it is Kentish Town in London that reveals its complex secrets to us, through the resurrection of its now buried rivers & wells, coaching house, landlords, traders, & simple tennants.