How did writers in the nineteenth century come to terms with the phenomenon of London, the world's largest and most rapidly expanding city? How did they perceive the 'modern Babylon' in all its excesses and chaos, and how did the rapid change and development of London affect or alter their prose and poetry? Did London, in fact, help to shape modern literary conceptions and representations of urban space and its effects on our lives in cities, as city-dwellers?

These questions are raised in Writing London, which asks the reader to consider how writers in the first half of the nineteenth century sought to respond to the nature of London, a city quite unlike any other during this period.

Drawing on literary theory, psychoanalysis and architectural theory, Julian Wolfreys looks at a variety of responses in poetry, fiction and autobiographical writing to consider the apocalyptic, the labyrinthine and the phobic modes of production among numerous reactions to the city.