This entry takes a brief look at John Stow’s life and work, then goes on to discuss what scholars today identify as perhaps his best work, that is, A Survey of London, published first in 1598 and expanded in 1603. I will refer to the importance of this work, what it reveals about the early mod-ern London, and the specific and at that time innovative way in which Stow delivers his mate-rials to his readers. I will also have a word on Shakespeare and others’ absence in Stow’s book, what is commonly known as “city comedy,” and how the city functioned generally for the more urban-minded writers.
