There are countless factual and fictional accounts of life in Victorian England, but not many by foreigners, and few as engaging and entertaining as these sketches by the German novelist Theodor Fontane, written when he lived in London for publication in German periodicals. He casts a discerning eye on the street scene, the buildings (including the Crystal Palace, then still standing), politics, commerce and banking, and much more. He was entertained by a number of Londoners in their homes and made many friends. Fontane likes England and the English and writes about them with affection and gentle amusement. Though he was a native of Prussia, anyone less like the usual image of the Prussian is hard to imagine. This highly readable account of London life casts an interesting side-light on the nineteenth-century English scene, and will appeal to both the historian and the general reader.