The Infinite City: Utopian Dreams on the Streets of London
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A Waterstones Best Book of 2023
A TLS Best Book of 2023
The Infinite City combines narrative history, biography and philosophy to show how London has been the hive of visionary thought for centuries.
Utopian thinking has long been a reflection of the needs and deficiencies of the day. In this book, I explore the imaginative worlds of Thomas More, the Diggers, William Morris, Extinction Rebellion protestors and many other visionary Londoners.
Beginning in the sixteenth century and stretching to the contemporary transformation of London's docklands and to the COVID lockdowns, The Infinite City shows how London’s spirit has been one of utopian imagination amid relentless change and innovation.
Praise for The Infinite City
‘Glorious . . . Kishtainy follows his utopians through their communes, model villages and garden cities’ —Guardian
‘I was fascinated by every page, every anecdote and every detail’ —BEN JUDAH, author of This is London
‘An excellent history of London- based Utopian thought . . . vigorous, rigorous and eminently readable’ —Spectator
‘Engaging . . . The Infinite City bravely challenges those who view London merely “as an infernal maze, as a centre of wealth, power and empire” and highlights instead those who have imagined it as a place of “possibility and experiment”’ —Daily Telegraph
‘From More’s Utopia to the forlorn hopes for a more equitable post- pandemic society, this is a fresh and fascinating look at utopias in theory and practice, artfully framed as a history of London. Conscientiously researched, yet brimful of memorable anecdotes about man- eating sheep and medieval churches made out of pudding, it impresses upon us the importance of daring to dream – and dream big – for yesterday’s impossibility can be tomorrow’s reality’ —MATTHEW GREEN, author of Shadowlands
‘In a series of vivid depictions of London spanning centuries, Kishtainy brings back to life some of London’s utopian dreamers, including the Diggers, Thomas Spence and the socialist mystic James Pierrepont Greaves, founder of the Ham Common Concordium, an austere utopian spiritual co- operative’ —Literary Review
‘Reconstructing some of the many utopian fantasies that London has inspired since the sixteenth century, Niall Kishtainy has written a richly informative, elegantly argued book that introduces us to a series of dreamers who, far from appearing eccentric, seem all too relevant in the twenty-first century. The Infinite City will prompt us to rethink the value of utopia as well as to reconsider our understanding of the metropolis’ —MATTHEW BEAUMONT, author of Nightwalking