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A Curious Guide to London
From petticoat duels and lucky cats to the Stiffs Express, Lord Nelson's spare nose, the Piccadilly earthquake and the Great Beer Flood of 1814, A Curious Guide to London takes you on a captivating, wildly entertaining tour of the city you think you know, unearthing the capital's secrets and commemorating its rich, colourful and unusual history. Brimming with tales of London's forgotten past, its strangest traditions and its most eccentric inhabitants, this book celebrates the unique, the unusual and the unknown. Perfect for tourists, day-trippers, commuters and the millions of people who call London home, this alternative guidebook will make you look at the city in a whole new light.
270 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 10, 2014
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221 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 28, 2022
A great little book of short stories and snippets of London through the ages. Pick up, put down, pick up. Good time filler. Very enjoyable.
November 24, 2017
I've been reading a few guidebook recently, but none as curious as A Curious Guide to London. Unlike most guidebooks, this one is full of tales about the weirder side of London history. For example:
- Under the statue of George Washington in Trafalgar Square is American soil, because Washinton swore that he would never step foot in England
- The smallest police station was an ornamental stone lamppost in Trafalgar Square (it's now a broom cupboard).
- The saying "When the lions drink, London will sink" refers to the Thames Lions which are used as a flood warning system (the book also mentions that there is a Metropolitan Standing Order that if the water reaches the top of the lion's heads, all London underground stations are to be closed immediately", but I couldn't find any other citations for that).
- Apparently, the embassy of the United States at Grosvenor square was the only embassy built on land not owned by the Americans. They had tried to buy the land, but the Duke of Westminister refused to sell unless the Americans would return the land the Grosvenor lost after the war of independence. The Americans decided to lease it instead.
The places are covered in topics, and quite a few are located near spots that even a first time visitor will go to. If you're into obscure history and fun facts, this would be a good book to read before going to London or while wandering around London.
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
- Under the statue of George Washington in Trafalgar Square is American soil, because Washinton swore that he would never step foot in England
- The smallest police station was an ornamental stone lamppost in Trafalgar Square (it's now a broom cupboard).
- The saying "When the lions drink, London will sink" refers to the Thames Lions which are used as a flood warning system (the book also mentions that there is a Metropolitan Standing Order that if the water reaches the top of the lion's heads, all London underground stations are to be closed immediately", but I couldn't find any other citations for that).
- Apparently, the embassy of the United States at Grosvenor square was the only embassy built on land not owned by the Americans. They had tried to buy the land, but the Duke of Westminister refused to sell unless the Americans would return the land the Grosvenor lost after the war of independence. The Americans decided to lease it instead.
The places are covered in topics, and quite a few are located near spots that even a first time visitor will go to. If you're into obscure history and fun facts, this would be a good book to read before going to London or while wandering around London.
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
April 24, 2019
Although there are quite a few of these types of book around, this one is one of the best I have read to date. As well as some great selections, all either quirky or bizarre but always interesting, the authors light approach to the material adds to the fun and never makes it feel like a collection of dusty facts.
It’s the sort of book that makes you go away and want to investigate some
stories further, and I can’t pay it a bigger compliment than that.
Recommended.
It’s the sort of book that makes you go away and want to investigate some
stories further, and I can’t pay it a bigger compliment than that.
Recommended.
December 25, 2022
A high three, not bad going for a book that is mainly just facts
But what facts!
Not only facts about the best place in the world but funny facts. Seriously, I did actual lol’s whilst reading this book. And even more lol’s when the facts got smutty and filthy. Coz we love a filthy funny fact.
Who doesn’t want to know that a road was call Gropecunt Road due to the fact prostitutes worked there. Good bless those mediaeval Londoners, coz that is some funny shit.
And, as a Londoner, I always enjoy learning something new about my manor.
Facts!
But what facts!
Not only facts about the best place in the world but funny facts. Seriously, I did actual lol’s whilst reading this book. And even more lol’s when the facts got smutty and filthy. Coz we love a filthy funny fact.
Who doesn’t want to know that a road was call Gropecunt Road due to the fact prostitutes worked there. Good bless those mediaeval Londoners, coz that is some funny shit.
And, as a Londoner, I always enjoy learning something new about my manor.
Facts!
November 29, 2024
Snippets – half to one page, on interesting stories and historical incidents in London, grouped into areas with hand drawn maps showing you where they happened. It’s a light read, entirely charming though I’d have liked it to have a deeper historical context. Great and fun way to get to know more about the city – now only to remember some of this while wandering around on the next trip!
November 6, 2017
Set of a short stories, notes about things/people that happened/lived in London. I think at least 50% of them are either funny, interesting or worth remembering for giving a tour.
January 7, 2019
Wonderful book about hidden sites of London. A worthy read for those who are fascinated by the history of one of the World's best known cities
February 7, 2019
Fun and easy to read, this book contains little snippets of history and folklore I haven’t read anywhere else.
March 15, 2019
Great stories about London! Now I need to visit every place named in the book 😊
September 3, 2019
Such a fun book!
February 27, 2021
Nice mixture of facts,lots unknown, some interesting and some plain funny
Read
May 3, 2022Some fabulous snippets and anecdotes in this one. It will be my companion as I plan our next visit - I'll have so many fun facts to Amaze and Astound.
February 28, 2023
not really what i expected but still a fun little book full of odd facts about london :)
July 30, 2023
Easy and enjoyable read. Learnt a lot about the place I currently call home.
August 7, 2023
Funny tidbit. Enjoyed reading!
June 3, 2014
I was racking my brains to decide what to buy for a friend of mine visiting from the States. Travel guides seem to occupy a very crowded market and out of the dozens offered I went for this one, purely for the title.
What a lovely surprise, it was not what I expected. Complete with maps detailing the various locations, the book contained some wonderful stories such as : where a man died after a stone penis fell on his head, the eighteenth century sex shop,the Coventry Street vampire and my favourite, where Rimbaud hit Verlaine with a fish!
I think I will keep this copy and get my friend another one.
What a lovely surprise, it was not what I expected. Complete with maps detailing the various locations, the book contained some wonderful stories such as : where a man died after a stone penis fell on his head, the eighteenth century sex shop,the Coventry Street vampire and my favourite, where Rimbaud hit Verlaine with a fish!
I think I will keep this copy and get my friend another one.
March 3, 2015
This book is location-based collection of historical London trivia. It's not really a history book, nor is it a travel book (although the information is always tied to locations on a map). Rather it's just a well-researched compendium of fascinating tidbits of London's history. If you enjoy interesting trivia, of the sort you'd see on an episode of QI, then this book is right up your alley. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and highly recommend it if this sort of thing interests you.
September 27, 2015
A decent 'bedside book'...reading a few pages a night before going to sleep. This has a lot of obscure facts about London (eg Pepys kept his bladder stone - which was the 'size of a goose egg' as a paperweight; the steeple at St Bride's church on Fleet Street was the inspiration for tiered wedding cakes; an Elephant given as a present to James I was given a gallon of red wine a day to drink in the mistaken belief that's how you looked after it...) ideal as a stockfiller for Christmas...
November 13, 2015
Laid out in neighbourhoods like a traditional guide book this book is anything but traditional. From the hilarious to the grotesque to just plain absurd, this book is simply entertaining! I loved learning strange bits of history about my favourite areas in London.
June 21, 2014
Fun-facts and details - definitely worth a peek
February 23, 2015
A bunch of interesting little vignettes about different neighbourhoods in London, it's worth a read.
February 2, 2016
Good book, easy to pick up and read snippets and full of interesting facts, a fun read
March 30, 2016
Fun book for those planning a trip to the city of London.
May 22, 2016
Book of very interesting little anecdotes about London oddities.
Well worth dipping into.
Highly recommended to any Londonphile. :)
Well worth dipping into.
Highly recommended to any Londonphile. :)
August 11, 2016
interesting and at time humorous trip around London! Worth the read
October 20, 2016
A curious guide to London no es malo, simplemente es... irrelevante. Algunas historias sueltas son interesantes, pero el resto es "lectura de sala de espera". Simpático librito, pero nada más.
May 1, 2017
This book is a compilation of weird facts worthy of the panel show QI (Quite interesting, formerly hosted by the wonderful Stephen Fry, currently hosted by the remarkable Sandi Toksvig), one of my favourite shows ever; and in fact I knew a couple of facts already thanks to QI, like the one about the great Beer Flood. The one about the ghost underground stations such as the British Museum station I knew thanks to my favourite book Neverwhere, and the story of Jumbo the elephant I had first read in Emma Donoghue's short story compilation Astray. Other than that, everything was as new and astonishing to me.
The lovely thing about this book is that it's designed like a museum map/catalogue, divided into sections, and you could probably walk around London holding this book and searching for the Easter eggs it presents. I wish I had acquired it prior to mu visit to London, but I guess I'll have to save it for the next time I go.
The lovely thing about this book is that it's designed like a museum map/catalogue, divided into sections, and you could probably walk around London holding this book and searching for the Easter eggs it presents. I wish I had acquired it prior to mu visit to London, but I guess I'll have to save it for the next time I go.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews