Her mother, Hilda (nee Scott) died when Liza was 10 years old. Her father, James Sleigh, was one of a long line of doctors, some distinguished, others rather reluctant. She was born in the village of Dedham, Essex, the youngest of three sisters.

Despite their easy-going tone, hers were works of impressive learning. Researching in a range of London libraries she found diaries and journals, almanacs and newspapers, government papers and reports, advice books and memoirs, not least those of foreign visitors. Her dry wit was not constrained by fear of academic disapproval and she had no academic thesis to prove her focus was on the everyday practicalities of life as revealed by contemporary primary sources. Trained as a lawyer, Liza was self-taught as a historian. Cruelty and hypocrisy flourish alongside invention, industry and philanthropy. But this was also, at least until the 1850s, a city of cholera outbreaks, transportation to Australia, public executions and the workhouse, where street-sellers sold sparrows for a penny, tied by the leg for children to play with. In Victorian London (2005), Liza noted the many practical innovations – flushing lavatories, underground railways, umbrellas, letter-boxes, driving on the left. Elizabeth’s London (2003) showed us a city ruled by the livery companies and their apprentice system, with foreigners closely watched. The road rage, press releases, takeaways and Dr Marten’s “chymical drops”, the Viagra of the time, that she described were reminders of today. In the world of Dr Johnson’s London (2000), private madhouses were a profitable line and false teeth could be ordered by post chalk was used to thicken milk and lead to blacken tea.

Liza Picard trained as a lawyer, working for the Inland Revenue for almost two decades, and as a historian was self-taught, her first book being published when she was 70

Dr. Johnson's London by Liza Picard