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.
This 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.
London east of the City has been particularly inspiring and there is a separate section for books and film that feature East London. They have not been included in the lists below
Enjoy!
The titles will be added very soon .....
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:
Eastside Books
Freedom Bookshop
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 very 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
