Rollo in London

Twelve-year-old Rollo arrives in London wondering what his uncle means by describing the city as having two heads. Jacob Abbott builds this children's travel story around that curiosity, moving between conversations and explanations of the places Rollo encounters. Mr. George describes the commercial City and the political West End, while the arrival at London Bridge station introduces railway carriages, waiting cabs, luggage and the customs surrounding porters' tips.

A visit to St. Paul's brings the city's scale into closer view. Rollo and Jennie follow a guide through galleries and tower rooms, examine a library and church models, and climb worn stone stairs to see the clock machinery. The narrative makes room for practical details as well as grand buildings. Readers interested in older children's fiction or nineteenth-century London will find a story that teaches through questions, observations and the small arrangements of travel.