Inwood, Stephen 1947–

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Inwood, Stephen 1947–

PERSONAL: Born August 16, 1947, in London, England; son of William and Jessie Beatrice Inwood; married Anne-Marie Cristina Moores; children: Thomas, Joseph, Benjamin. Education: Dulwich College, B.A., 1964; attended Balliol College, Oxford, 1965–68; St. Antony's College, Oxford, Ph.D., 1971. Politics: "Liberal/Socialist." Hobbies and other interests: Cycling, singing, family.

ADDRESSES: Home—15 Old Deer Park Gardens, Richmond, Surrey TW9 2TN, England. Office—Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Kingston University, Pen-rhyn Rd., Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2EE, England. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer and educator. Thames Valley University, London, England, lecturer then principal lecturer in history, 1973–99; New York University, London, England, associate professor, 2000; Kingston University, London, England, research fellow in the Centre for Local History Studies, 2001–.

WRITINGS:

A History of London, Macmillan (London, England), 1998, revised and updated edition, 2000.

The Man Who Knew Too Much: The Strange and Inventive Life of Robert Hooke, 1635–1703, Macmillan (London, England), 2002, published as The Forgotten Genius: The Biography of Robert Hooke, 1635–1703, MacAdam/Cage (San Francisco, CA), 2003.

City of Cities: The Birth of Modern London, Macmillan (London, England), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Stephen Inwood may have become fascinated with London because his father was a London taxi driver. Since 1975 Inwood has specialized in the history of London as an academic, and in 1998, he published A History of London. The book examines London's political, economic, cultural, religious, social, and health history. A reviewer writing in the Economist described the book as "essentially a narrative history taking London from its foundation under the first wave of migrants—the Romans—to the present day." The remarkably detailed, 1,111-page book deals with the question of whether a city is made great because of its leaders or because of its citizens. Inwood writes that while London is one of the world's most important cities, it has experienced weak local management through most of its history. Inwood also writes on immigrants, "the successive migration of wave upon wave of outsiders who have made their mark upon London land [and have] given it their own distinctive flavor." He states that London, like New York, "has always been a city that relied on migrants."

A.N. Wilson, in a review for the Times Literary Supplement, commented that though Inwood wants to write an optimistic history, he "is more prepared to admit that London, if not finished, has become uniquely horrible in our lifetime." Inwood laments the city's modern innovations, such as tower-block experiments in which "once in their flats in front of their televisions, [the occupants] could watch the inhabitants of Coronation Street and EastEnders leading lives rather like the ones they had been forced to give up." He focuses on "the sick, the disgruntled, the hungry and the disreputable," noting that London is a city with high levels of poverty, as well as great centers of wealth.

Wilson compared Francis Sheppard's London: A History along with A History of London in his review. He noted that both writers describe the importance of banking, commerce, and insurance to the city, adding that "both Inwood and Francis Sheppard … manage to make these potentially dry matters vivid to the general reader, and both authors assure us that 'The City' in the financial sense is still as important as ever it was." Brad Hooper, in Booklist, praised Inwood's evenhandedness: "Of course, the story of London will by definition reflect the history of the kingdom at large, but Inwood does a special job of ensuring that his focus is placed on local issues as well as national ones." Frederic Krome wrote in the Library Journal that "although the analysis of the Roman and medieval city is sparse, compared with later chapters, the book is a well-balanced and enjoyable read."

In his next book, The Man Who Knew Too Much: The Strange and Inventive Life of Robert Hooke, 1635–1703, published in the United States as The Forgotten Genius: The Biography of Robert Hooke, 1635–1703, Inwood focuses on the man who helped rebuild London after the Great Fire. Hooke is also widely known for his mechanical inventions, scientific writings, and intellectual battles with Sir Issac Newton and other scientists of his day. Bryce Christensen, writing in Booklist, called the biography "a balanced portrait." A Kirkus Reviews contributor wrote: "Meticulous research and capacious imagination inform this absorbing tale of genius, personality, and the vagaries of reputation." Inwood is also author of City of Cities: The Birth of Modern London, in which he focuses on the modernization of London and its society during the three decades leading up to World War I. Writing on the Londonist Web site, Paul Bailey noted that "the book is very readable and will appeal particularly to those who already possess a fair knowledge of the city's history."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Inwood, Stepehen, A History of London, Macmillan (London, England), 2000.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 1, 1999, Brad Hooper, review of A History of London, p. 1380; February 15, 2004, Bryce Christensen, review of The Forgotten Genius: The Biography of Robert Hooke, 1635–1703, p. 1012.

Contemporary Review, December, 2002, review of The Man Who Knew Too Much: The Strange and Inventive Life of Robert Hooke 1635–170, p. 382.

Economist, September 26, 1998, review of A History of London, pp. 85-86.

English Historical Review, November 2003, Michael Cooper, review of The Man Who Knew Too Much, p. 1391.

Guardian (London, England), December 31, 2005, Paul Bailey, review of City of Cities: The Birth of Modern London.

Journal of Social History, winter, 2000, Albert J. Schmidt, review of A History of London, p. 437.

Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2004, review of The Forgotten Genius, p. 24.

Library Journal, April 15, 1999, Frederic Krome, review of A History of London, p. 118; March 15, 2004, Eric D. Albright, review of The Forgotten Genius, p. 103.

New Statesman, September 18, 1998, Will Self, review of A History of London, p. 50.

Publishers Weekly, April 19, 1999, review of A History of London, p. 53; January 26, 2004, review of The Forgotten Genius, p. 239.

Times Literary Supplement, October 23, 1998, A.N. Wilson, review of A History of London, p. 8.