A lively, anecdotal wander through the creamy world of stucco — the material that gave London’s grand western terraces their smooth Italianate glamour. From its humble mix of lime and sand to its starring role in John Nash’s Regent’s Park and Little Venice, this is the story of how plaster and paint pulled off one of the greatest visual conjuring tricks in urban history: turning brick into marble, speculation into splendour, and Paddington into “Venice.”