What happened to Edinburgh's once notorious but picturesque Tolbooth Prison? Where was the Black Turnpike, once a dominant building in the town? Why has one of the New Town designer's major layouts been all but obliterated? What else has been lost in Edinburgh? From Edinburgh's mean beginnings - 'wretched accommodation, no comfortable houses, no soft beds', visiting French knights complained in 1341 - it went on to attract some of the world's greatest architects to design and build and shape a unique city. But over the centuries many of those fine buildings have gone. Some were destroyed by invasion and civil strife, some simply collapsed with old age and neglect, and others were swept away in the 'improvements' of the nineteenth century. Yet more fell to the developers' swathe of destruction in the twentieth century. Much of the medieval architecture vanished in the Old Town, Georgian Squares were attacked, Princes Street ruined, old tenements razed in huge slum clearance drives, and once familiar and much loved buildings vanished. The changing pattern of industry, social habits, health service, housing and road systems all took their toll; not even the city wall was immune. The buildings which stood in the way of what was deemed progress are the heritage of Lost Edinburgh. In this informative and stimulating book. Hamish Coghill sets out to trace many of the lost buildings and find out why they were doomed. Lavishly illustrated, Lost Edinburgh is a fascinating insight into an ever-changing cityscape.

When did thousands of people last crowd into Edinburgh’s High Street to witness an execution? Three brass bricks on the pavement mark the spot, but how many people notice them or know what they mean? As a fire engine roars along the road sirens blaring and lights flashing, what has that got to do with a fire of 1824? Why was Leith in mourning one bleak day in 1915 and where can you find a monument which commemorates the tragic event? The answers are all in an expanded and revised edition of Edinburgh Curiosities. Thomson and Coghill have trawled through the city’s characters to bring together a collection of the men and women who scandalised and inspired the city over the years. But in addition to the notorious, like the Porteous Riot, Deacon William Brodie – the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde – or Madeleine Smith, they look at other lesser known, but nevertheless fascinating, people and events. Stories you’ve maybe heard something about but don’t know the detail. They also float intriguing speculation like the possibility of members of Ned Kelly’s gang carrying out armed robberies in Leith after the bushranger was hanged in Australia. The result is a fascinating dip into Edinburgh’s rich and varied past, which will appeal to natives and visitors alike.

A Century of Edinburgh offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses and details of familiar places during a century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Edinburgh's recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed. A Century of Edinburgh provides a striking account of the changes that have so altered the city's appearance and records the process of transformation. Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of black-and-white photographs, this book recalls what Edinburgh has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century.