Peter Ackroyd (1) (1949–)

The word thorough does not do London: the Biography justice. Think of it as a chronology of London's biggest events from 54 BC to 2000 AD. It is an explanation and examination of culture, architecture, religion, invention, society, education, slang, literature, food, immigration, sanitation, crime, entertainment, commerce, economics, weather... I could go on. There are a lot of opinions about this book floating around. Someone said it took them six months to read it. Someone else said you have to read it before visiting London, while someone else suggested using London: the Biography as a walking guide. Good luck carrying the thing around. It's heavy!
London is the book to read if you want to know what Charles Dickens thought about London cats or the pervasive fog; what Daniel Defoe thought about the poor, the prison system, or London's suburbs; or Samuel Johnson's thoughts on public intoxication or witnessing a well-attended execution in a courtyard. Ackroyd's meticulous research has uncovered those opinions and more. You will learn about the Great Fire of 1666 and how no one knew how it started; yet it burned for five days straight. You will hear stories about the infamous London fog and how a man could get lost in the ominous mist. Speaking of ominous, penal and criminal behaviors are discussed at great length. I particularly liked the man who couldn't stay imprisoned. Time and time again he found ways to escape.… (more)

Ackroyd is a keen observer of so many quintisential London things, and if you are a frequent enough visitor to London, there's much here to take away and enjoy and perhaps even apply on your next trip. The downsides are first, that this book is about a quarter century old, and it shows. So many of the places he talks about, especially the downtrodden areas, have changed significantly since he wrote the book. Secondly, as a very gifted author, sometimes it seems like he is reaching just a little bit too much for the perfect turn of phrase, when something a bit more down-to-earth would be more effective.

The audiobook is well read (and 32 hours long!), although the narrator does have a few strange pronunciations, and I don't think they are just British English. Of course, the audiobook lacks all the pictures in the print edition, but you can Google things to your heart's content.… (more)