Illustrated London by Peter Ackroyd
Lavish, large format picture book about London, with Peter Ackroyd's inimitable text (taken from London: A Biography), new pictures and new captions. Divided into four parts: 1) In the beginning Roman and Medieval London, ending with the Black Death; 2) Red Contrasts the Great Fire of 1666 with the Blitz of 1944, and tells the story of both in gripping narrative; 3) Motley Theatrical London, including street fairs, street theatre, London as mob and crowd etc; 4) Black The industrial revolution, the London poor and homeless, London as centre of empire (including emigration), London prisons, huge expansion of the metropolis (including the London suburbs).
Programme one begins with Peter Ackroyd speaking the words: 'I have lived in this city all my life. I was brought up on a council house estate in west London.' It goes on to show him describing Turnmill Street (for centuries, associated with pornography); Cannon Street (haunted), Park Lane (the exact road dates from Anglo-Saxon times). There is no corner of London that he does not know. He has written biographers of the people whom he calls 'cockney visionaries' (Dickens, Blake, Thomas More) and many of his novels are set in London, including the most recent, The Clerkenwell Tales, a delightful 'take' on Chaucer.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780701176136 |
| ISBN 10 | 070117613X |
| Title | Illustrated London |
| Author | Peter Ackroyd |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Vintage Publishing |
| Year published | 2003-10-02 |
| Number of pages | 256 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |