A review by thebooktrail88
Literary London by Eloise Millar

5.0

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Where do I start? This is just the perfect book for any literary lover –

The chapters start by telling you about the journey London has gone on from its humble beginnings to the metropolis of today. It was like stepping back in a time machine and finding your way with the authors in turn, the guides of the social, political, cultural and of course Literary London of its time.

Can you tell how much this book fascinated me? It’s even got key addresses and further reading lists after each easy to read and descriptive chapters. Such bold titles too ‘Beginners and Immortals” was the first – Chaucer, Shakespeare….so often I think we forget about the faded footsteps of those who have walked centuries before us.

Little grey boxes of extra info peppered the journey like those blue literary plaques on the walls…. You can literally walk in and out of this book as the mood suits and of course each chapter is a trail in itself – and a mountain of knowledge at the same time.
The text is fresh and witty and then when I got to chapter four “Mystics and Magicians” like on a wayward Hogwarts broom, I was flung into the London ether – graveyards, angels and demons…. ghosts. I may not be brave enough to read in the dark but if you do I can only imagine sitting in some of these places when the light starts to fade. Never mind the Jack the Ripper tours – this is a whole new London thrill!

There’s so much to this book that one short review doesn’t even get close to the literary love affair I now have with London and this book. Gossips and Rivals was another favourite “London has nurtured many fond literary friendships” it starts describing the way writers huddle in cafes….and where readers go to ‘meet’ them either for real or via their books

It’s not just the literary leanings which are prominent but the landscape and the changes that the city has seen and experienced and even those it has been at the forefront of. A history lesson as well as a literary one but one that reads like a ride on that Hogwarts broom stick when your game of Quidditch is polished and ready,

A literary gem