'A Reign of Steam': Continental Perceptions of Modernity in Victorian London, 1840-1900.

<title/> This paper examines the image of London as recorded by tourists from continental Europe in the latter half of the nineteenth century. London is represented as a synecdoche for British industrial modernity, which is intimately connected with the haphazard nature of the metropolis. British modernism is thus presented as inherently unstable and individualistic, lacking many of the familiar markers common to cities on the Continent. The judgement of these visitors suggests a differentiation between types of modernity, which is influenced by the differences between Continental and British urban systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]