London: An Illustrated Literary Companion

by Rosemary Gray (Contributor)

'When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.'
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

London: An Illustrated Literary Companion, compiled by Rosemary Gray, captures the varying moods of the great city of London over recent centuries, through diary entries, with quotations, poems, essays and extracts from great works written in its honour. It is beautifully illustrated with drawings and engravings from distinguished artists, including Gustave Doré, George Cruikshank, James McNeill Whistler and Hugh Thomson as well as contemporary prints and photographs.

'I don't know what London's coming to - the higher the buildings the lower the morals.'Noël Coward (1899-1973)

Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautifully bound gift editions of much loved classic titles. Bound in real cloth, printed on high quality paper, and featuring ribbon markers and gilt edges, Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

Genres: London, Travel, Nonfiction, British Literature

384 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2015

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This beautifully illustrated book was a gift from my daughter & looks at life in London (in both fact & fiction) over the last few hundred years. There are quotes, stories, poems, book extracts & much more about this great city.
I especillay enjoyed the short story Three Pennyworth of Luck by Basil Murray, as welll as many of the old newspaper reports & even the adverts for shops. Apart from the poems spread throughout the book, which I didn't really enjoy as I'm not a poetry fan, this was a very ejoyable read.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overreliant on a few writers, namely Dickens (ugh), Virginia Woolf, Edward Lear, and Amy Levy (never heard of her, but this book must reprint at least half of A London Plane-Tree). I would have liked to see more antique advertisements, and more accounts from famous Londoners' lives; I really enjoyed the ones about Samuel Johnson and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Some form of organisation, whether geographic or chronological, would have been good too.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pleasant little selection of short pieces, all taking place in London, some fictional, most not. It calls itself illustrated, but there are just a handful of little drawings and photos. Most of the writings are drawn from well known 19th century literary figures like Carlyle and Dickens, but there are also some unexpected inclusions, like several uninspiring poems by Amy Levy (who was she?) There are some good sections, e.g. some essays by Virginia Woolf, that show us something of how people lived, but a kaleidoscopic portrait of London does not emerge. I offer my respect to the editor for the concept, but not so much for the execution.

[Patricia H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful selection of writings about magnificent London across the centuries by well-known and obscure writers. It includes essays, short stories, poems, illustrations, and period newspaper articles, and advertisements. It's really a delightful read.

What it's missing: an index of authors, and a table of contents! The editor kindly sorts the pieces by particular areas of the great city, but ...

A selection of authors: Dickens, George Elliot, one of the Brontes, Defoe, O. W. Holmes, Leigh Hunt, Henry James, Oscar Wilde, Jane Austin, etc. etc.

Feel free to dip in for a quick read amongst the pieces!

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a collection is pretty alright but I’m thankful it introduced me to Virginia Woolf’s essay ‘Street Haunting’ which I’d give a 5/5 as I was utterly captivated.

Also did not realise the Victorians really did not like the National Gallery building huh.

[Maryk13 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. Short stories, poems or parts of stories all about London. The most are from the last century. I would like something more contemporary.

[Avril · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of Woolf essays, which I enjoyed. I must chase up Amy Levy - I hadn’t previously heard of her poetry.

[David Bisset · Rating 5 out of 5]

A splendid anthology

It was a delight to browse this book. There was prose, poetry, history and art. The material was most judiciously selected. What a fascinating city!

[Amanda Witt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small volume that be picked up and put down with many short excerpts from mainly English authors between 1700-1950's or so.

[Pedro Trujillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book on a great city.

[Maisey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a charming book. The editor made wonderful selections. A lovely read for those who have visited London or dream of doing so. In either case it will fill you with nostalgia. The MacMillan Collector's Library edition is particularly fine and would make a great gift.