Leo Hollis

In June 1701, a young widow, Mary Grosvenor, wakes up in a hotel room in Paris and finds a man in her bed. Within hours, they are married. Yet, three weeks later, Mary fled to London and swore that she had never agreed to the wedding. So begins one of the most intriguing stories of madness, tragic passions, and the...

Hollis expertly weaves together the human tragedy and high politics behind the explosion of one of the world’s greatest cities. – Dan Snow The reclaimed history of a woman whose tragic life tells a story of madness, forced marriages, and how the super-rich came to own London. In June 1701, a young widow wakes up in a hotel room in...

A fascinating adventure through the history of cities, from their origins to their future. Have you ever looked at the towers, houses, bridges and parks around you, and wondered how they got there? The answer is in the greatest experiment in human history—the city. In The Story of the City, urban historian Leo Hollis takes readers on a captivating journey...