Before the Revolutionary War, England had a complex relationship with its colonial properties, but one truth always held: London was the center of the British Empire and therefore, the center of the world, politically, culturally, and intellectually. As such, it drew students, merchants, intellectuals, and fortune hunters from all over the empire. Flavell’s comprehensive examination of London’s lure to colonists focuses on specific individuals, including a wealthy merchant, his scientist son, the slave who makes a gamble on freedom, and Benjamin Franklin. Through these sketches readers begin to derive a complex understanding of London’s role in the Empire and its influence over colonial styles, affiliations, and racial attitudes. Having poured through manuscripts from the time, Flavell argues that the American colonies were a far more multicultural place than American history books tend to depict, and that the British perception of the colonies was not as simplistic as we’ve been led to believe. Flavell writes in a compelling and succinct style, and history fans will be intrigued by his interpretation of a tumultuous time that shaped the fate of nations. (June)
Ambitious . . . lively. . . . Beautifully reimagining a city that was a distant but integral part of American life, Flavell’s book is essential reading for anyone interested in the colonial period.”—Andrea Wulf, New York Times Book Review A Wall Street Journal “Summer Reading” Selection“Flavell’s study offers wonderfully evocative glimpses into the lives of men such as Benjamin Franklin, who lived in the city for 17 years.”—The Guardian “[A] well-researched and enjoyable book.”—Leslie Mitchell, Literary Review “[An] engaging social history, written with a novelist’s eye for character and plot.”— Gaiutra Bahadur, The Observer “Flavell re-creates with stunning lucidity the bustling world of Georgian London. . . . Absorbing. . . . Remarkable. . . . Through meticulous research and elegant prose, she brings to life a city at the height of its powers.”—Brian Odom, Library Journal “The book is written in a very accessible style laced with familiar literary parallels drawn from such authors as Jane Austen and Charles Dickens and likely to attract the non-specialist reader. . . . But for all of its seeming lightness of touch, Flavell’s work is based on thorough research and has some serious and important messages for historians of the revolutionary period."—Stephen Conway, American Historical Review “Flavell offers a lively, informative account of individual Americans in London and firmly establishes the enduring attractions of the capital for colonials of varied stripes, both before and after American independence.”—Joseph F. Bartolomeo, Age of Johnson “A wonderful evocation of the full panorama and panoply of life in eighteenth-century London.”—Andrew O’Shaughnessy, An Empire Divided “With clarity and sure authority, Julie Flavell tells us challenging things that will cast new light on the many readers’ commonly-held beliefs. This is a splendid book.”—Peter Marshall“A fascinating account of Americans in London in the 1760s and 1770s. Julie Flavell ingeniously weaves together the experiences of the Laurens family of South Carolina, Stephen Sayre of Long Island, and Benjamin Franklin, plus many other colonists, to reveal the rich variety of their London life, and she also illuminates the growing tensions of the revolutionary crisis in strikingly new ways.”—Richard S. Dunn, author of Sugar and Slaves: The Rise of the Planter Class in the English West Indies, 1624–1713 “Before Americans had a Washington—or any other capital city worthy of the name—they had London. Taking as her subject the men and women, young and old, enslaved and free, high-born and humble, who crossed the Atlantic in the years just before and during the Revolution, Julie Flavell paints a vivid and compelling picture of London as the cultural, political, and economic center of colonial American life.”—Eliga H. Gould, author of The Persistence of Empire: British Political Culture in the Age of the American Revolution
"Ambitious . . . lively. . . . Beautifully reimagining a city that was a distant but integral part of American life, Flavell's book is essential reading for anyone interested in the colonial period."—Andrea Wulf, New York Times Book Review
New York Times Book Review - Andrea Wulf
"A wonderful evocation of the full panorama and panoply of life in eighteenth-century London.”—Andrew O’Shaughnessy, An Empire Divided
"With clarity and sure authority, Julie Flavell tells us challenging things that will cast new light on the many readers' commonly-held beliefs. This is a splendid book."—Peter Marshall
"A fascinating account of Americans in London in the 1760s and 1770s. Julie Flavell ingeniously weaves together the experiences of the Laurens family of South Carolina, Stephen Sayre of Long Island, and Benjamin Franklin, plus many other colonists, to reveal the rich variety of their London life, and she also illuminates the growing tensions of the revolutionary crisis in strikingly new ways."—Richard S. Dunn, author of Sugar and Slaves: The Rise of the Planter Class in the English West Indies, 1624-1713
"Before Americans had a Washington - or any other capital city worthy of the name - they had London. Taking as her subject the men and women, young and old, enslaved and free, high-born and humble, who crossed the Atlantic in the years just before and during the Revolution, Julie Flavell paints a vivid and compelling picture of London as the cultural, political, and economic center of colonial American life."—Eliga H. Gould, author of The Persistence of Empire: British political Culture in the Age of the American Revolution
'This is a good book that lives up to expectations' — Leonard Schwarz, Reviews in History
Reviews in History - Leonard Schwarz
'[a] well-researched and enjoyable book' — Leslie Mitchell, Literary Review
Literary Review - Leslie Mitchell
'Julie Flavell has produced not an account of the administration of the American colonies from London but something much more original…She reveals an extraordinary, almost forgotten world, rich with anecdote.' — Duncan Fallowell, Daily Express
Daily Express - Duncan Fallowell
'[An] engaging social history, written with a novelist's eye for character and plot.' — Gaiutra Bahadur, The Observer
The Observer - Gaiutra Bahadur
"Flavell's subjects—their lives marked variously by bankruptcy, broken engagements, illegitimacy, and suicide—invite illusions to Fielding and Austen.... [An] engaging portrait of colonials in the metropolis. Highly recommended."—G. F. Steckley, Choice Reviews Online
Choice Reviews Online - G. F. Steckley
"The book is written in a very accessible style laced with familiar literary parallels drawn from such authors as Jane Austen and Charles Dickens and likely to attract the non-specialist reader. . . . But for all of its seeming lightness of touch, Flavell's work is based on thorough research and has some serious and important messages for historians of the revolutionary period."—Stephen Conway, The American Historical Review
The American Historical Review - Stephen Conway
"Flavell''s subjects—their lives marked variously by bankruptcy, broken engagements, illegitimacy, and suicide—invite illusions to Fielding and Austen.... [An] engaging portrait of colonials in the metropolis. Highly recommended."—G. F. Steckley, Choice Reviews Online
— G. F. Steckley
''[An] engaging social history, written with a novelist''s eye for character and plot.'' — Gaiutra Bahadur, The Observer
— Gaiutra Bahadur
''Julie Flavell has produced not an account of the administration of the American colonies from London but something much more original…She reveals an extraordinary, almost forgotten world, rich with anecdote.'' — Duncan Fallowell, Daily Express
— Duncan Fallowell
''[a] well-researched and enjoyable book'' — Leslie Mitchell, Literary Review
— Leslie Mitchell
''This is a good book that lives up to expectations'' — Leonard Schwarz, Reviews in History
— Leonard Schwarz
"Ambitious . . . lively . . . . Beautifully reimagining a city that was a distant but integral part of American life, Flavell''s book is essential reading for anyone interested in the colonial period."--Andrea Wulf, New York Times Book Review
— Andrea Wulf
New York Times Book Review
