This book examines key moments in the emergence of London as a metropolis and considers different ways in which its image has been formulated and presented. The complexity of the different identities of London are revealed in the tensions and interactions between manifestations of civic and national pride, the relationship between private and governmental institutions and urban planning issues. The chapters address a range of topics from specific questions of architectural style to the relationship between the City of London and London as a metropolis. Different methods of constructing urban identities are explored, including representations of London in the visual arts, the self-conscious work of architects and planners, and approaches adopted by historians to give the city different meanings and identities.