Wimbledon's rapid growth in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries into the prosperous London suberb of today is captuared vividly in this collection of superb photographs. They show how now-familiar streets and terraces were laid out during the last years of Queen Victoria's reign, how the population increased after the arrival of trains and trams, and how the shopping district expanded around Ely's, the famous department store. The book gives an unforgettable impression of each district as it developed, and the pictures offer an evocative insight into the daily lives and living conditions of the residents in the early years of the century. The modest beginnings in the 1870s of the world famous Wimbledon tennis championships are recalled in the collection, as is the development of Raynes Park in the 1890s. The book also includes views of Wimbledon Common, taken over the last 100 years, which show how, in all seasons, local people have enjoyed the quiet and space of a stretchof open land that was only preserved by an Act of Parliament as late as 1871. Many of the photographs date from the turn of the century, and most of them have not been published before. They create a memorable picture of the lives of the local people in the recent past and chronicle famous events and changing forms of transport and fashion which older residents may well remember