Urban history occupies a central place in historical scholarship with an outstanding record of interdisciplinary contributions and a broad based and distinguished panel of referees and international advisors each issue features wide ranging research articles covering social economic political and cultural aspects of the history of towns and cities urban history is leading the way in academic publishing with its multimedia companions the companions are refereed and fully linked and . It was in this climate that ashgate publishing commissioned a new monograph series historical urban studies under the editorship of richard rodger editor of urban history and jean luc pinol the leading french urban historian and a key figure in the european association of urban historians eauh the aim of the series was and is to be comparative over both time and space drawing on multiple locations to explore what is common and what distinctive about the urban experience of diverse . This series showcases original and exciting new work in urban history it publishes books that challenge existing assumptions about the history of cities apply new theoretical frames to the urban past and open up new avenues of historical enquiry the scope of the series is global and it covers all time periods from the ancient to the modern worlds. Historical studies of urban america focuses on north american cities and metropolitan areas as centers of historical change series titles are concerned with cities as places that influence spatial relations politics economic development social processes and cultural transformations and are in turn shaped by these forces. Historical fiction transports readers to another time and place either real or imagined writing historical fiction requires a balance of research and creativity and while it often includes real people and events the genre offers a fiction writer many opportunities to tell a wholly unique story