A London Year: 365 Days of City Life in Diaries, Journals and Letters - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0711235643 ISBN 13: 9780711235649

Publisher: Frances Lincoln, 2015

Synopsis

A London Year is an anthology of short diary entries, one or more for each day of the year, which, taken together, provides an impressionistic portrait of life in the city from Tudor times to the twenty-first century.

There are more than two hundred featured writers, with a short biography for each. The most famous diarist of all - Samuel Pepys - is there, as well as some of todayâ??s finest diarists like Alan Bennett and Chris Mullin. There are coronations and executions, election riots and zeppelin raids, duels, dust-ups and drunken sprees, among everyday moments like Brian Eno cycling in Kilburn or George Eliot walking on Wimbledon Common.

Vividly evoking moments in the lives of Londoners in the past, providing snapshots of the cityâ??s inhabitants at work, at play, in pursuit of money, sex, entertainment, pleasure and power, A London Year is the perfect book for all who live in or love this eternal, ever-changing city.

About this title

About the Author

Travis Elborough is an author and social commentator. His books include A Traveller’s Year, A London Year, The Long-Player Goodbye, Being A Writer and A Walk in the Park: The Life and Times of a People’s Institution. Travis is a regular contributor to Radio 4 and the Guardian, and has penned articles on all aspects of travel and culture, from pirates in the Caribbean to donkeys at the British seaside. He has written for the Times, Sunday Times, New Statesman, BBC History Magazine and Kinfolk among others.

NICK RENNISON has worked as a writer, editor and bookseller for more than twenty years. His London Blue Plaque Guide has been through three editions in the last decade and he has also published The Book of London Lists, described by the London Evening Standard as a book that 'can teach even the most die-hard Londoner something they didn't know'. He lives in Stockport. 

Review

‘Live everyday life, entries can be both monotonous and vivid, but A London Year will have something to teach residents and visitors alike.’

‘The perfect book for all who live in or love this eternal, ever-changing city.’

‘If you're planning an outing to the capital, it's the perfect appetiser - packed with inspiring detail and observations.’

'The erudite selection by editors Travis Elborough and Nick Rennison yields gem after gem.'

â??One of the wonderful things about this book is the fact that the revelations themselves are contributed by some of the worldâ??s most famous writers. A transcendent read which creates a rich tapestry of our beloved capital through the ages.â??

â??A near-priceless collection of insights.â??

â??The perfect book for all who live in or love this eternal, ever-changing city.â??

â??It takes us through those 365 days through the words of Londoners themselves, skitting and dashing around from the past and the present. And what a cast list it has. In the first few pages, we meet Samuel Pepys (Mr W. Pen has left his sword on the coach to Westminster), Alan Bennett (Reg from Inverness Street Market has died, and weâ??re standing by a trestle-table outside the Good Mixer), and Brian Eno (heâ??s on a bus on the Great Western Road â?? â??a mobile version of the village wellâ? ). The dipping potential within it is delicious. The modern diary entries are the nicest touch, though, I think. Head-deep in the past, you feel a scorch of white heat suddenly encountering Michael Palin, or Anthony Sher, or Dickon Edwards of â??90s Romo band Orlando, and indie band Fosca. Each season edges along with the mention of each moment and memory.'

â??Live everyday life, entries can be both monotonous and vivid, but A London Year will have something to teach residents and visitors alike.â??

â??It is overflowing with pithy, scurrilous, poetic and witty words.â??

â??If you're planning an outing to the capital, it's the perfect appetiser - packed with inspiring detail and observations.â??

About this edition

• Publisher: Frances Lincoln
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0711235643
• ISBN 13: 9780711235649
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 624