Tales of Two Londons: Stories from a Fractured City

by Claire Armistead

A capital city of historic buildings next to degraded social housing. A city of the enormously wealthy living beside the poorest and dispossessed. A city in which the burnt-out hulk of Grenfell Tower, standing in London's richest borough, is a shocking landmark to the potentially fatal consequences of our society's inequalities. A city in which nearly 40 per cent of the population was born outside of the country.

A city with stories to tell, but whose citizens' stories don't often seem to come from the same place.

Tales of Two Londons reasons that everybody has a right to seek a better life, no matter where they live.

Curated by Claire Armitstead, this contradiction is illuminated in a collection written by as diverse a group of people as the metropolis it records. Here, work from the famous sits alongside the previously unpublished in fiction, reportage and poetry to capture the nuances, accents and schisms that define this contemporary city.

Featuring writers such as Ali Smith, Iain Sinclair, Arifa Akbar and Ruth Padel, and stories from previously unpublished writers, immigrants and refugees, Tales of Two Londons is a compelling collection which captures the constantly evolving fabric and etiquette of the its housing, its restaurants and its pubs; its communities, its architecture and its landscape; its art, its buses and tubes, and even its graveyards.

Genres: Nonfiction, London, History, Short Stories

250 pages, Paperback

First published March 27, 2018

Reviews

[Mir]

[Conor Tannam]

Some beautiful poems and essays about my adopted home of London.

[harriet]

2.5*

[reba]

Slowly read this beautiful anthology . I was leant it by a new friend and over 9 months, took my time with each entry as I was getting to know the city

[Simon]

Some great writings I’ll come back to later in the year

[erika]

another book i was meant to read during my degree

[Mademoiselle Matea]

Very easy to read. Contains multiple short stories and poems about life in London and the people in it, from various socioeconomic backgrounds.

Moving insights about the life in the metropolis.