The Book Lover's Guide to London

Book excerpt: “Brings literature lovers on a journey through London, from Chaucer in the fourteenth century to present day . . . as diverse as the city itself.” —British Heritage Travel Many of the greatest names in literature have visited or made their home in the colorful and diverse metropolis of London. From Charles Dickens to George Orwell, Virginia Woolf to Bernadine Evaristo, London’s writers have brought the city to life through some of the best known and loved stories and characters in fiction. This book takes you on an area-by-area journey through London to discover the stories behind the stories told in some of the most famous novels, plays, and poems written in, or about, the city. Find out which poet almost lost one of his most important manuscripts in a Soho pub. Discover how Graham Greene managed to survive the German bomb that destroyed his Clapham home. Climb down the dingy steps from London Bridge to the Thames Path below and imagine how it felt to be Nancy trying to save Oliver Twist, only to then meet her own violent death. Drink in the same pub where Bram Stoker listened to the ghost stories that inspired Dracula, the plush drinking house where Noel Coward performed, and the bars and cafes frequented by modern writers. Tour the locations where London’s writers, and their characters lived, worked, played, loved, lost, and died. This is the first literature guide to London to be fully illustrated throughout with beautiful color photographs. It can be used as a guidebook on a physical journey through London, or as a treasury of fascinating, often obscure tales and information for book lovers to read wherever they are.