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'The best books about London'

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DiamondEcho
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'The best books about London'

#14162

Postby DiamondEcho » December 11th, 2016, 6:02 pm

Sub-headline 'Books for real London lovers. By Ian Thompson'

http://www.standard.co.uk/shopping/the- ... 15391.html

Some really interesting looking ones in the list. thought it might interest others.

DiamondEcho
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Re: 'The best books about London'

#21615

Postby DiamondEcho » January 9th, 2017, 5:08 pm

A journal of the plague year - Daniel Defoe

and at the opposite end of the spectrum, Metroland by Julian Barnes.

DiamondEcho
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Re: 'The best books about London'

#21791

Postby DiamondEcho » January 10th, 2017, 9:23 am

IanCole wrote:DiamondEcho, Thanks for suggested me both names of books. I like them and I am sure both will be good for me. I hope I will learn many new things from them. What your favorite book about London?


The two recommended are entirely different :) I read the Defoe book long ago and as I recall it's written in the 1st-person during the plague. I'm not sure if he was actually in London at the time or stitched together the accounts of others who were. It is pretty staggering what he describes; imagine if bubonic plague broke out in London and we were not scientifically advanced enough to know what caused it nor how to treat it. As I recall, back then it was most concentrated around what we now call the City, and that's where most of the plague-pits were. So anyone who knows the City will likely learn some surprising things. But there was also a plague-pit as far west as being mid-way between Harrods and Harvey Nichols.
http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagaz ... laguePits/

The Barnes book, [which I read 15-20 years ago]. As I recall it's more centred on a boy entering his teenage years living in NW London. So there is quite a bit of him 'venturing out into the world', seeking to understand it, as a young teenager would. But it's certainly not a simple or 'childish' book. It's a well articulated and very charming reminiscence from an adult perspective of what that stage in life can be like. Perhaps in this case London is more the stage rather than the story.

I enjoy Barnes' books, thought provoking and neither simple nor impenetrable. I see that he wrote another book centred on London, so this is one I'll buy when I next see a copy - 'Letters from London - Julian Barnes'.

These lists might also bring other suggestions that suit your tastes:
https://suitcasemag.com/travel/stories/ ... ut-london/
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/engla ... ies-london

AleisterCrowley
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Re: 'The best books about London'

#21795

Postby AleisterCrowley » January 10th, 2017, 9:29 am

'Letters from London' is an excellent book ( I recommended it on TMF I think) but it's not specifically about the city, being a collection of essays for the New Yorker about British life.
I recommend 'Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self' by Claire Tomalin - gives a brilliant view of London in the 1600s

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Re: 'The best books about London'

#21862

Postby DiamondEcho » January 10th, 2017, 2:30 pm

Interesting stuff AC.
That reminded me of another book about the eponymous Dr. Johnson [creator of the first English dictionary and all-'round polymath], by Boswell IIRC. I googled that and came up with >
-------------------
' Dr. Johnson's London
by Liza Picard
4.04 · Rating Details · 490 Ratings · 35 Reviews
The practical realities of everyday life are rarely described in history books. To remedy this, and to satisfy her own curiosity about the lives of our ancestors, Liza Picard immersed herself in contemporary sources - diaries and journals, almanacs and newspapers, government papers and reports, advice books and memoirs - to examine the substance of life in mid-18th century London. The fascinating result of her research, Dr. Johnson's London introduces the reader to every facet of that period: from houses and gardens to transport and traffic; from occupations and work to pleasure and amusements; from health and medicine to sex, food, and fashion. Stops along the way focus on education, etiquette, public executions as popular entertainment, and a melange of other historical curiosities.

This book spans the period from 1740 to 1770-very much the city of Dr. Johnson, who published his great Dictionary in 1755. It starts when the gin craze was gaining ground and ends just before America ceased being a colony. In its enthralling review of an exhilarating era, Dr. Johnson's London brilliantly records the strangeness and individuality of the past--and continually reminds us of parallels with the present day.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7335 ... n_s_London
---------------------

The above page also has a 'Readers also enjoyed' suggestions on the same page with further ideas.

AleisterCrowley
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Re: 'The best books about London'

#22289

Postby AleisterCrowley » January 11th, 2017, 9:43 pm

That looks interesting -will add to the Amazon list! Trouble is I've got a 'to read' pile approaching the height of Ben Nevis at the moment. I finish one and add two....

Going back to Defoe he was 'around' during the plague but was 5(ish) in 1665.

(From Wikipedia) -Daniel Foe (his original name) was probably born in Fore Street in the parish of St. Giles Cripplegate, London. Defoe later added the aristocratic-sounding "De" to his name, and on occasion claimed descent from the family of De Beau Faux. His birthdate and birthplace are uncertain, and sources offer dates from 1659–1662, with 1660 considered the most likely

From the same article;
A Journal of the Plague Year
A novel often read as non-fiction, this is an account of the Great Plague of London in 1665. It is undersigned by the initials "H. F.", suggesting the author's uncle Henry Foe as a primary source. It is an historical account of the events based on extensive research, published in 1722.


Main page;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Journal ... lague_Year
Yet another to add to the list - it'll probably end up on the pile, above the snowline

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Re: 'The best books about London'

#22441

Postby DiamondEcho » January 12th, 2017, 12:10 pm

Ah ok, interesting, didn't know that.
re: the Dr Johnson's London book, I looked on Amazon and it transpires that the author, Liza Picard, has written books based on 4 different eras in London with a 5th due out later this year. I also see she studied law at LSE and was called to the Bar aged 21... so I'd hope/imagine she's thorough in her work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liza_Picard

A link to her books on Amazon.co.uk . Not sure if others could open it or if it only applies to my own current 'session'. She appears to have been a pretty prolific writer...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_no ... iza+Picard

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Re: 'The best books about London'

#22497

Postby AleisterCrowley » January 12th, 2017, 2:22 pm

I rather fancy the Restoration and Victorian ones - she seems to be well reviewed.
(but must stop buying for a while, another on arrived in today's post - "Ouch" by Paul Knott - Economics...


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