Publisher's Synopsis
It is England's longest river and the second-longest river in the United Kingdom. ... The river has been an important trade and transport route since prehistoric times. London's fame and fortune are due to its river. The history of London is bound up with the infamous river that flows through its center. The Thames has witnessed the rise and fall of an Empire. The births and deaths of bloodthirsty rulers. And the rapid evolution of a thriving metropolis. It is both the giver of life to the city and the bringer of destruction. It was a center of trade and allowed people to travel. But it also brought pollution and sewage from upstream, caused floods, and its inky blackness has been a heart-breaking siren call to suicides. As London evolved from a sparse ancient civilization into the bustling multicultural hub it is today, many of its great tragedies played out on the banks of the Thames: the infamous Gunpowder Plot, the devastating Great Fire of 1666, and the destruction wreaked by Second World War bombing. In this book, the author follows the history of this great city and looks at how the river has played a part in the political events - and deadly occurrences - which have shaped the modern world.
