East London in Words
East London has inspired writers for over a hundred years. Some were born and bred in the area, others visited and did not stay, others made the East End their home. Some of the most evocative to read are those memories from people who grew up in east London.
This list is by no means exhaustive but provides a selection of reading for you - some are fiction, some non-fiction, some mostly photographs and images.
Most I have read but those I have not read are in the list by recommendation.
By the way, they are listed in date of publication ... no ranking.
Enjoy!
Children of the Ghetto / Israel Zangwill – 1892
Tales of Mean Streets / Arthur Morrison - 1894
People of the Abyss / Jack London – 1903
Chicken Soup with Barley / Arnold Wesker – 1959
No Tears in Aldgate / Ralph L. Finn - 1963
Spring in Aldgate / Ralph L. Finn - 1968
Lud Heat / Iain Sinclair – 1975
East End Jewish Radicals 1875 - 1914 / William Fishman - 1975
Ain’t It Grand or This Was Stepney / Jim Wolveridge - 1976
The Streets of East London / William Fishman – 1979
Rothschild Buildings: Life in an East End Tenement Block / Jerry White - 1980
A History of Tower Hamlets / Colm Kerrigan - 1982
Hawksmoor / Peter Ackroyd - 1985
East End 1888 / William Fishman – 1988
The East End / Alan Palmer – 1989
The Saving of Spitalfields / Mark Girouard et al – 1989
LImehouse Days / Daniel Farson - 1991
London’s East End: Life and Traditions / Jane Cox - 1994
Newham Dockland: Images of London / Howard Bloch - 1995
The East End: Then and Now / Winston G Ramsey - 1997
My East End / Gilda O'Neill - 1999
Rodinsky’s Room / Rachel Lichtenstein and Iain Sinclair – 1999
This Bright Field / William Taylor – 2000
18 Folgate Street / Denis Severs – 2001
Silvertown: An East End Family Memoir / Melanie McGrath - 2002
Brick Lane / Monica Ali – 2003
An Acre of Barren Ground / Jeremy Gavron – 2005
The Good Old Days: Crime, Murder and Mayhem in Victorian London / G O'Neill - 2006
East End Neighbourhoods: Images of London / Brian Girling - 2005
21 Aldgate / Patricia Friedberg - 2010
Jewish London / Rachel Kolsky and Roslyn Rawson - 2012 (How could I leave this one out!)
Some walking tours focus on the literary associations of the area .... 'Spitalfields - In Words' and 'The Jewish East End - The Story'. Details are on the Go London Tours and Go Jewish London pages.
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:
East London on Film
East London has been an inspiration to film makers since cinema began.
The early films mocked up east London in studios but later films went on location.
We have not ranked the films in any way but have listed them by date of film release and we plan to add information as to which areas of east London are depicted.
You can get more information about the films and the locations via the links we give 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 please send them to me.
Watch and enjoy!
Broken Blossoms (1919)
The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929)
It Always Rains on Sunday (1947) This is one of my favourite films. Just thought I would mention it!
The Pool of London (1950)
A Kid and Two Farthings (1955)
The Siege of Sidney Street (1960)
Sparrers Can't Sing (1962)
To Sir With Love (1966)
The London Nobody Knows (1967)
The Long Good Friday (1980)
For Queen and Country (1989)
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Brick Lane (2007)
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
PUBLISHED IN MARCH 2012 AND BY AUTUMN 2014, BEING REPRINTED FOR THE FIFTH TIME, JEWISH LONDON IS ‘THE’ BOOK TO HAVE ON YOUR BOOKSHELF.
It includes a feature on Jewish London
on Film and in Words.
FULL DETAILS AND REVIEWS ARE HERE
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