The London Suburbs

Abstract

Haussmann’s rebuilding of Paris continues to define, to a large extent, the archetypal Parisian abode, which is why it formed the basis for the first chapter of this book. In the history of the London home of the same period, there is no Haussmann figure, no governmental authority whose dictates defined the contours of the urban home. There is still a sense, however, that a ‘typical’ London home emerged in this period, and it is the antitype of the Parisian apartment. It is telling that the urban home in London is, in contrast to that in Paris, suburban: the semi-detached or terraced suburban house, or — further up the social scale — the detached villa. This chapter examines the development of suburbia and suburban housing in relation to the town planning movement and then examines depictions and critiques of suburbia by H. G. Wells and George Orwell. These two writers are shown to have very different attitudes towards the suburbs, which become — in their work — key sites where the relationship between town and country is negotiated. Through these authors, it can be seen that questions about how land is to be inhabited — addressed in a different manner by the Town Planning movement — become central to English Literature and culture, and, for Wells and Orwell at least, such questions take on a vital political importance.