The Town Below the Ground (Jan Andrew Henderson)

One of my many issues: when I travel, I frequently pick up books of local interest.  During a recent trip to Edinburgh, I was enchanted by the tour of the real Mary King's Close (highly recommended if you visit that city), and picked up a few books on the topic.  The Town Below the Ground tells the story of the lower levels of Edinburgh- now sealed off and underground, though initially at street level.  It's amazing how much "old city" is underneath the street of the modern town.  Endless chambers and narrow passageways still exist underground, and this book tells a bit of their story.

The book is a bit of a hodgepodge.  The first half is history, but a very quick overview.  It covers (among other things) the unique geography of the city, and how the steeply sloping hills (and lack of space due to overcrowding) led city designers to start burrowing into the hills on which Edinburgh is built, creating lots of "underground" homes.  It also discusses the bridges built between hills, to create a relatively level city, and the resulting decision to create chambers and dwellings underneath those bridges, creating a unique environment.

The second half is a collection of legends and reported hauntings related to the underground town.  Rather unrelated to the first section, it was interesting, but seemed a bit out of place.

This work had great potential, but failed to deliver on some fronts.  First, the history section isn't very in-depth; it's about the same amount as you receive on an hour tour of Mary King's Close.  Not bad, but disappointing- I was hoping for something more detailed and informative.  Second, the author is relatively free with the use of the term "underground."  Several places, she (I think it's a she) acknowledges that the chambers, initially, weren't underground, but either under bridges or built into the side of steep hills.  Over time, in some places these areas became underground, but they weren't always.  It's being a bit confusing and sensationalist implying that they always were- and that bothered me.  The real history is fascinating enough without hyperbole, and more clarity on the matter would have been appreciated.  Third, just a map or two of Edinburgh in the book would have been tremendously helpful.  The author throws around area names and street names assuming the reader is familiar- a simple map would have been nice.

While there were some shortcomings, this was an extremely fast and interesting read.  Any visitors to Edinburgh would probably enjoy their visit more if they read this book first.

Rating: B-