Jan Henderson's "The Town Below the Ground": Exploring Edinburgh's Legendary Underground City

Ashley: A+ seller

United Kingdom on Oct 20, 2023

pamelaeverest: I was amazed by what went on in the underground of Edinburgh Having lived in Edinburgh this book revealed so many stories and interesting story. It was a short book but nevertheless have a good story of Edinburgh

United Kingdom on Oct 22, 2021

Wendy: I bought the original of this book while in Edinburgh. It was a fascinating read, so I bought several copies as gifts. Lent my copy to someone & never got it back. Found this on Amazon & was delighted! Read it again. Just as good the second time!

United States on May 17, 2020

nathan williams: This is a great book about the unknown and hidden parts of edinburgh. It gives a great background a some great short stories about underground. Made me want to learn more about them.

United Kingdom on Mar 30, 2020

Paula Moloff: If you go don't go w/o reading this book about the underground town or you won't appreciate the underground town tour half as much.

United States on Feb 13, 2020

Charles Cortazzo: Great history of Edinburgh...wished I read this before I visited there...explains the whys and how Edinburgh underground came to be and what to expect if you take a tour….must read before you go or just as a fun read.

United States on Oct 17, 2019

Annik Lamotte: We have just been on a visit to Edinburgh bought as a voucher present to us by dear friends. We had limited time (and I was suffering from cystitis which blighted our walks) but I tried to do my homework in advance by buying relevant paperbacks and e-books on the subject. We have a ghost at our French home so I am quite prepared to believe about those mentioned in this book, though we didn't take the tour of the underground city that was on offer. I must confess that I am a lily-livered claustrophobe! The detailed description of the growth of the city of Edinburgh, upwards and downwards, within its walled boundary were fascinating and I found this book very interesting. Recommended.

United Kingdom on Apr 24, 2019

Steven R. Shook: "The Town Below the Ground" can easily be read in a single sitting. The writing style is breezy and basic, somewhat similar to what one would find a tour guide booklet. The book is written in two parts: history and tales. I found the history portion of the book quite interesting, informative, and entertaining. The tales portion, however, seemed like I was reading unconnected blog post stories, none of which were very interesting or entertaining. And the tales certainly were not "spine-chilling," as is printed on the front cover of the book.

In fact several tales covered in the book have nothing to do with Edinburgh's underground. One tale having nothing to do with Edinburgh's underground was "The Worst Poet in the World," though I found this to be one of the best written chapters in the entire book.

As a history buff, I came away disappointed after reading "The Town Below the Ground." The author, Jan-Andrew Henderson, seems to have a decent writing style. Unfortunately, in this book his writing style is not put to good use in combination with good research or depth of information. If you are looking for an entertaining and very quick read about Edinburgh, then this...

United States on Oct 27, 2017

Discworldfan: I wish I had read this book prior to my last trip to Edinburgh! Even though I knew a bit about the history of the city and the underground vaults and such, it would have been a treat to have this book with me on the trip. That being said - it is definitely going with me on my return vacation this year.
The book is a very easy and entertaining read giving you the behind the scenes info about one of the most wonderful cities to sight see.
From the underground passages and vaults to the many ghost stories associated with them, I read this book from cover to cover trying to soak up every detail.
If you are planning to go, or went to Edinburgh without knowing the history of the city below, this book will not disappoint.

United States on Apr 01, 2013

G.I.Forbes: This book records the facts,myths,legends and ghosts relating to the town below Edinburgh,how it developed and the atrocious conditations that existed.
The town below ground developed in 3 stages following the building of defensive walls in the 15 and 16 centurys and the buildingg of bridges in the 18 and 19 centurys.
The first wall was built after the battle of Sark in i450 and the second after the battle of Flodden.The consequence of these walls waa the entrapment of the population which with increase in numbers had to ex pand either up or down. The vaults ,chambers and rooms built underground were at first good homes but rapidly declined to be a core of poverty,crime and deprivation eventually becoming uninhabital and were closed of
Once the possibility of invasion by England subsided there was a lot of building work carried out outside the walls and the underground town was forgotten.
Asecond town underground was built between 1765 and 1833 when 5 massive bridges werw built to connect 7 hills and vaults, chambers and rooms were built into the arches of the bridges and on the sloping sides of the hills which exist today with a few of the chambers from the first...

United Kingdom on Jan 19, 2009