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Piccadilly

On sale

13th October 2022

Price: £21.99

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Selected: Audiobook Downloadable / ISBN-13: 9781529339758
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A people’s history of Piccadilly: London’s bustling meeting place for over a century.

There’s nowhere quite like Piccadilly Circus.

From the moment they emerge, blinking from the underground station, visitors to Piccadilly Circus face a sensory onslaught. Its streets and alleyways merge into an intoxicating thoroughfare, with the power to propel an individual onwards to adventure, romance, or something more sinister. Ever since its iconic Eros statue appeared in 1893, the junction has been a vibrant meeting place, attracting visitors and pleasure-seekers from all walks of life: political plans and theatrical careers were hatched at its restaurant and café tables, lovers met below the statue of Eros, and to this day tourists pour out of its historic Tube to experience the bright lights of London’s nightlife.

Piccadilly explores how the area has been shaped by social and historical events – from female suffrage to world wars to technological advancements – and by its colourful cast of characters – from flower girls, shop assistants and sex workers, to film stars, Bright Young Things and conmen (and women).

For many, the Circus has represented both a home from home and a brave new world, as campaigners, revellers, opportunists and romantics have all been drawn to Piccadilly’s bright lights.

This is the story of why Piccadilly Circus continues to mean so much to so many.

(P) 2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Reviews

The TLS
[A] magpie's nest of a book, replete with anecdotes, sketches and quotes . . . Piccadilly is painstakingly researched and as busy as the Circus itself.
Anne Kennedy Smith *Books of the Year 2022*
An engrossing new social history.