Reader's Guide to Writers' London

by Ian Cunningham

London has stimulated and fascinated writers from Chaucer, Dickens and De Quincey, to Orton, Orwell and more recently, Peter Ackroyd. Both a bedside companion and an imaginative travel guide, it leads you through the literary history of each district. Discover Boswell's Fleet Street, the Dickensian London of The Pickwick Papers and Little Dorrit and look at London Bridge through the eyes of T.S. Eliot. Packed with anecdotes about the lives of the city's writers, the book allows you to locate Dr. Johnson's favourite haunts and drink in the same bars as Dylan Thomas and Jeffrey Bernard. Accompanied by specially commissioned photographs of London today, and hundreds of illustrations of writers, manuscripts, prints and memorabilia, A Reader's Guide to Writers' London is a must for any lover of either literature or London.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2001

Reviews

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book for research and to use as a guide if one were taking a trip to London and wished to visit sites related to our favorite authors. I savored this book, reading it slowly, and taking notes. If you're looking to build a new set of books to read this is a great resource. I think I've found about 20 books that I'd not come across before, and now will have to spend time adding them to my to-read shelf.

The book is very well-illustrated, with photos that show both how things looked both in the past and the present. There are many quotes from authors that I'll save as well, being the quote collector that I am.

I would recommend this book highly to anyone who loves London, is going to visit London, or wants to find trivia and background information about their favorite British writers. I'd almost like to have this one in my library to consult periodically for information.