Despite its present relatively animal-free state, the city of London was once inhabited by a veritable host of creatures both large and small. From domestic livestock to the exotic subjects of popular entertainment and amusement to the “wee beasties” that cohabited with and plagued its human residents, London teemed with a variety of life. In her new book, Beastly London; a History of Animals in the City, published on the Reaktion Books imprint distributed by The University of Chicago Press, Hannah Velten examines the history of London’s multifarious creatures and investigates what changes to that great metropolis were wrought by both their presence as well as – in many cases – their disappearance.
