London in Words
London has inspired writers for over a hundred years. Whether by reading fact or fiction or faction people’s idea of London has been shaped by what they have read. Some books such as guide books are purely factual and informative. Novels take London as their backdrop but the image they portray can be very evocative of a London in a specific time and place. Then there is faction, where fact and fiction merge to make a potent mix of London and the author’s imagination.
The list is by no means exhaustive but provides a selection of reading for you - fiction, non-fiction, some mostly photographs and images.
Many of those listed below are on my bookshelves and those I have not read are in the list by recommendation. Just in case you are wondering how I decided to list them. They are simply listed in date of publication ... no ranking.
It will be arriving soon.
The East London list is already available!
London east of the City has been particularly inspiring and there is a separate section for books and film that feature East London.
There is one book that should be on everybody’s bookshelf .... ‘Jewish London’. Co-written by Rachel and published in March 2012 it has already being reprinted for the FOURTH time.
CLICK ON THE JEWISH LONDON BOOK COVER FOR MORE DETAILS
Enjoy!
We have devised some walking tours which focus on the literary associations of London .... ‘Literary Bloomsbury’, 'Spitalfields - In Words' and 'The Jewish East End - The Story'.
The books are mostly available at good bookshops and via Amazon for those that might be more difficult to obtain. You might also want to visit bookshops in the area:
London on Film
London has been an inspiration to film makers since cinema began.
The early films were news reels and ‘topicals’ and then London was mocked up in studios but later films went on location.
The films are not ranked in any way but listed by date of film release and the plan is to add information as to which area of London is depicted for each.
You can get more information about the films and the locations via the links given below to key websites that specialise in film and of course, the BFI and the Mediateque where you can view some of them on screen.
If you have any particular favourites you would like to see in the list then do send them to me.
Watch and enjoy!
The titles will be coming soon.
Useful resources
BFI - the premier rep cinema in London
BFI Mediateque - a wonderful resource to enhance your curiousity about film
Filming in East London - if you want to make a film yourself these are the contacts you need
IMDB - The International Movie DataBase is a treasure trove of film information
Reel Streets - a subscription based site collating film locations in the UK
Rotten Tomatoes - the site collating film reviews
info@golondontours.com
020 8883 4169
MARYLEBONE
Sunday 5th July
JEWISH EAST END
Tuesday 7th July
BATTLING BELLES OF BOW
*ROMAN ROAD FESTIVAL*
Sunday 12th July
SWINGING KENSINGTON
Sunday 19th July
STREATHAM
Saturday 25th July
MITTEL EUROPE IN NW3
Tuesday 28th July
ANGEL
Tuesday 28th July
EAST END VILLAGE
Wednesday 29th July
SOHO VICE
Saturday 8th August
JEWISH HACKNEY
Sunday 23rd August
UNIQUELY EUSTON
Sunday 23rd August
SOHO OF THE 60s
Saturday 5th September
WESTMINSTER WOMEN
Tuesday 8th September
STITCH STITCH STITCH
Saturday 12th September
LAMBETH LIVES
Series of tours
Thursdays September/October
ST JOHN’S WOOD
Sunday 20th September
CHARING CROSS
‘Let’s all go down the Strand’
Sunday 20th September
BESPOKE TO BOUTIQUE,
SAVILE ROW TO SOHO
Saturday 26th September
and more