At once a celebration and a lament, "London's Historic Railway Stations" discusses London's railway termini, their Victorian origins, and their state in the hands of British Rail around 1970 or so, when the book was written. A long-time explorer of those parts of London most take for granted, John Betjeman has a personal story or trivia to share about each station, and manages to pack a surprising amount of information into this short book, and somehow finds room to point out the original and modern elements in many of the images. John Gay's photographs don't cover the locations extensively, but are evocative and full of detail, and I wish the smaller ones could be larger.

I really enjoyed this book, both for the images and for the familiar and witty text. As reference material for artists and writers, it's probably not enough, as the image coverage is very limited. It would make a great companion to more substantial books on its subjects. Still, if you come across it and have any interest in Victorian-era transport, I think it's worth picking up - if not for reference, then for inspiration.