London. Westminster Bridge and Southbank Book Market. 1995-2012-2015
Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) said that whoever grew tired of London grew tired of life . But another great English poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), wrote that hell is a city very much like London . I, who am just myself, say that every time I've set foot in London I've simply been happy . Both as just another tourist and when I lived there for a while.
Its history, its atmosphere, its smells, its countless hidden corners invite you to imagine a thousand more stories. And they inspire you to create them. Westminster Bridge has witnessed such recent glories and tragedies. And that popular Southbank book market holds hundreds of universal and local titles. Today I want to mention a few books about this city and invite everyone to visit it or return. For no other reason. It's London.
It would be impossible to list all the stories that London has inspired or that are set there. Literary giants , mid-sized writers, and minor figures. Anonymous writers or amateurs who stumble upon a word, a phrase, or an image. Without even knowing the city.
Because who hasn't danced in the ballrooms of those parties the Dashwood sisters attended in Sense and Sensibility ? Who hasn't seen or imagined Dickens's London ? Who hasn't visited Highgate Cemetery and thought they could see Lucy Westenra 's shadow?
London - Edward Rutherfurd
Perhaps the best-known (and most voluminous) title to immerse oneself in this city from its founding in a small Celtic settlement to the bombings of the Second World War , passing through the invasion of Caesar 's legions in 54 BC, the Crusades, the Normans , the creation of the Globe , the theater where Shakespeare would premiere his works, the religious tensions , the Great Fire of 1666, the Victorian era… A multitude of stories that mix real and fictional characters , belonging to a few family sagas that perpetuate themselves through the centuries.
The Infiltrator - Stephen Leather
The first novel in the series featuring Agent Dan Shepherd , also known as Spider. Stephen Leather perfectly recreates the tense and sordid atmosphere of London's underworld and draws Shepherd into a trap-filled game that keeps the suspense alive until the very end.
London Stories - Doris Lessing
The British writer, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature ten years ago, went to the tumultuous, diverse and multiracial London of the late 20th century to set the eighteen stories that make up this volume of short stories.
Lessing focused on one of her favorite themes: the critical portrayal of the English bourgeoisie . These stories recount the difficulties, experiences, and many surprises inherent in family and romantic relationships, with the distinctly British importance of social conventions as a backdrop.
The Man from London - Georges Simenon
Simenon wrote The Man from London in 1933, his first title considered serious after the popular novellas that had brought him so much success until then.
One winter night in the French port of Dieppe, railway switchman Louis Maloin watches a ship arrive. But then he witnesses a scene that shakes him to his core: a man is pushed into the water, clutching a suitcase, while his killer flees into the darkness . Maloin decides to dive into the waters of the dock and retrieve the suitcase. Curiosity gets the better of him, and… the contents of the suitcase leave him breathless. Things take a turn for the worse when, a few days later, he discovers the killer's whereabouts.
London Stories - Enric González
Enric González, a journalist who was El PaÃs 's London correspondent , shares his experiences, stories, and the people he met there. A very personal and engaging book.
To finish
It doesn't matter the title, the time, or the story. Anything with the word London printed on it deserves attention.