Introduction: Ackroyd's London

The setting of Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem exemplifies the writer's view of London as composed of multiple layers of history and tradition which coexist and accrue to constitute its identity. Likewise, his other novels – Hawksmoor, The great fire of London, The house of Doctor Dee as well his fanciful history of the city, entitled London: the biography convey the writer's notion of London as a living being, overpowering and determining the lives of its inhabitants. Despite its mutability and the multifariousness of its material shape, London, in Ackroyd's view, retains its stable identity sub specie aeternitatis. In his essay “Some old haunts” the writer conveys his impressions of London's streets:

As represented by Ackroyd, London is essentially split into its visible, changeable, material form and its immaterial, unchanging spirit.