Stepney: Profile of a London Borough from the Outbreak of the First World War to the Festival of Britain, 1914-1951

Bird, Samantha L.

ISBN 10: 1443825824 / ISBN 13: 9781443825825

Published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2011

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 3328789_f96_3x

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Stepney: Profile of a London Borough from the Outbreak of the First World War to the Festival of Britain, 1914-1951
• Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1443825824
• ISBN 13: 9781443825825
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

This book is the first single volume history of Stepney in modern times. It sets out to provide a vivid and yet scholarly portrait of an iconic London borough situated in the heart of the East End. Stepney is an area with very many well known associations and images, from the horrifying murders of “Jack the Ripper” to the soaking up of the heavy bomb damage during the Blitz, from the classical confrontation between Mosley’s fascists and the socialist left at the “Battle of Cable Street,” to the dramatic “Siege of Sidney Street” when Liberal Home Secretary Winston Churchill rooted out an anarchist cell. Beyond these dramatic episodes, Stepney witnessed the perennial struggle for subsistence among the many poor, the rise and fall of the great local docks, the immigration of large numbers of Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe and elsewhere, the growth of the Labour Party and the surprising local ascendancy of the Communists, the desperate drive to improve public housing, the evacuation of a large proportion of its children at the start of World War II, and much more besides. This is a truly ground-breaking, very readable book that fills a surprising gap in our knowledge and greatly enhances our understanding of London, urban, working-class, inter-ethnic, industrial and British 20th century history.

About the Author

Dr Samantha L. Bird studied for her first degree in History at Anglia Ruskin University. She then took an MA in the City in History at London Metropolitan University, going on to complete her PhD on Stepney at the same university in 2009. She has recently published an article on the East End and the Blitz in the BBC History Magazine (October 2010) and has broadcast as a consultant on BBC London Radio s Robert Elms show.