a wonderful collection of stories and legends, to be recommended to anyone who is at least half in love with the dark side of London's past.
- Peter Ackroyd, The Times
[An] absorbing compendium by folklore expert Steve Roud. He excavates the history of the capital, from obscure suburban streets to famous sites like the Tower of London
The London Paper
I've been enthralled ... The book's real strength lies [in] its exposure of deeper levels of custom, tradition and magical thinking that lie beneath the smooth Tarmac of contemporary realism
- Will Self, Evening Standard
A spellbinding study of our city's folklore ... digs through layers of hearsay and speculation to investigate how and why the stories and traditions arose in the first place
Newham Recorder
An absorbing and fascinatingly thorough book
Harrow Observer