London

London is a city in the United Kingdom that acts as the central setting of the Stoneheart Trilogy. Being an old city, London has an extensive history. It is filled with a variety of architectural styles and houses statues from many different time periods. In the trilogy, London is said to have multiple layers, or dimensions. In one of these layers, the city's statues come to life, and they move, talk, act and fight accordingly to the way that they were built.

London is the place where author Charlie Fletcher got the idea for the stories; he remembers visiting the city with his father when he was young.

History
"This is London. Lot of life, lot of death, lot of everything." ~ The Gunner describing the city

The Early Years
The city of London has a long history that spans back all the way to the dawn of the AD years. The city was originally called Londinium by its founders. It was attacked by many groups of people over the years, including the army of Boadicea in 60 AD and Vikings in 851 AD. It was where English royals established themselves and built several palaces. William the Conqueror, the first Norman king of England, was crowned in the city in 1066.

The Middle Ages
(Awaiting completion)

The Early Modern Era
London endured the last English epidemic of the bubonic plague from 1664 to 1666. This epidemic, aptly named the Great Plague of London, killed an estimated 100,000 people, or 15% of the city's population at the time.

The central part of London, especially the historic medieval city, suffered a terrible fire in the year 1666 during the days of September 2-5. This event became known as the Great Fire of London. A monument was built in commemoration of the event between 1671 and 1677.

Dr. Samuel Johnson published his A Dictionary of the English Language in 1755. This was a significant achievement in the world of the English language, as Johnson wrote the book single-handedly, and he even made several revised editions later on.

The Long Nineteenth Century
(Awaiting completion)

The First World War
Throughout World War I, London was the target of several attacks that were part of the German bombing campaign. On September 4, 1917 during one such attack, a bomb was dropped near Cleopatra's Needle. The bomb struck nearby, and its shrapnel hit one of the two Sphinxes that flank the obelisk. Another bomb hit St. Pancras station on the night of February 17, 1918, killing twenty-one people.

Although fighting on the city did not take place, the war still left London scarred in several ways. It is estimated that anything from 700,000 to 900,000 residents of the United Kingdom were killed during the First World War. Repairs had to be made to the places struck by bombs.

The war played important roles in the success of several notable locals; for example, Charles Sargeant Jagger, a sculptor by trade and a war veteran, based his works of art off of what he saw in the war. He used explicit detail in the showing violence, although this practice was frowned upon at the time.



The Second World War
World War II was a time when London was once again targeted by German attacks; this time frame is historically known as the Blitz. For fifty-seven consecutive nights starting on September 7, 1940, London was bombed by Germany's Luftwaffe aerial branch, but strikes were taking place even before then. In response to the early bombings, Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered the bombing of Berlin.

Post-World War II London
(Awaiting completion)

The Twenty-First Century
(Awaiting completion)

Locations in London

 * Royal Artillery Memorial
 * St. Pancras Station
 * Temple Bar
 * Natural History Museum
 * Black Friar's pub
 * Cleopatra's Needle
 * St. Dunstan in the West
 * Monument to the Great Fire of London
 * London Stone
 * British Museum