In February, I read London Under: The Secret History Beneath the Streets by Peter Ackroyd and really enjoyed it. It's a brief book that explores the past and present of the rivers and tunnels beneath London. It was something that I knew very little about and it definitely whet my appetite for the subject. But then, as frequently happens, I got distracted by other books and briefly forgot about the interest.
Then, last week, I was already missing the quirky Bryant and amiable May so I picked up the second book in Christopher Fowler's Peculiar Crimes Unit series, The Water Room. Coincidentally, some of the plot is about the rivers beneath London (the rest is about the damp above ground) and it renewed my interest. Therefore, I've decided to take a bit of a literary journey into London this summer and all it has to offer, both above and below.
The base of my project is going to be Peter Ackroyd's London: The Biography. Funnily, the first chapter was about ... the rivers of London! Once I finish The Water Room, I'm going to re-read Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere to continue the underground theme. I'm not sure yet where I'll go from there but, since The Biography is over 700 pages long and will take at least the summer to read, I'll have plenty of time to pair fiction reads with it.
Do you have a favorite book about London?
Heading over the pond,
K
I loved The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson, which was set there. :)
ReplyDeleteI have that one but haven't read it yet. Is London prominent in it? I am looking for London as an almost-character. Otherwise, I'll be saving it for an RIP read. :)
DeleteOoh how fun! I didn't know Ackroyd had written a book about London underground. I read a truly wonderful book on that topic several years ago, titled London Under London. Fantastic. Wish I owned a copy, but it's kind of rare now.
ReplyDeleteMy other favorite London books are London's Secret History, by Peter Bushell, Restoration London, by Liza Picard, and the scarily-detailed London: a History by Francis Sheppard. I wound up buying a map of London so I could trace out all the details on the ground; that really helped. :)
I don't recall where I heard about it but it's an interesting little book. And I've just requested a London map book from the library. Thanks for the idea!
DeleteGuess what, my library has the Under London book! You made me hanker after some good London reading...
DeleteAwesome! Warning ... it's a quick read so you might just whet your appetite for more London books. ;)
DeleteThank you for pointing me toward those 2 Ackroyd books on London!
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome!
DeleteI really really need to read the first book in the Peculiar Crimes series soon! Have fun with your project!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah. I decided to DNF The Spark. I would love to know your thoughts on it.
The second book was a much easier read than the first so if you even see a glimmer of potential in the book, I would keep reading the series!
DeleteAnd I'll find a time to chat with you about The Spark. ;)
Hi, can i ask you something? You seem to know a lot about children books and illustrations. The thing is, I’m looking for children books with “scary” animal illustrations like the big bad wolf (or a fox) eating pigs (or seven kids or Red Riding hood or birds in Chicken Little) or being pictured with a fat stomach. Could be any other animal as well. I need it for my research. Any sort of help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
ReplyDeleteWe've moved on a bit from picture books so I can't think of anything off-hand. Danielle from There's A Book is probably a good person to ask! http://www.theresabook.com/
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