Books set in London

[ohcaptain]

Can anyone recommend any good books, preferably more recent ones, that take place in or around London? I will be traveling there in a few months and I wanted to read some good books that capture the spirit of the city to get me in the mood. Thanks for the help!

[Isa]

Hmmm... how about reading a novel by Nick Hornby?

[theenglishrory]

Good question! I completely understand your desire to read books set in London - I kinda like to do the same thing when I travel somewhere!

Being from London, I'd have to say that if you haven't read it, Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf offers a beautiful description of london. Obviously it is not a contemporary book, and you may have read it, but it really reminds of what London, even today, is all about and it's historical foundation. Much of what she writes about in many ways is still relevant. I've read it since being in the States, and when she speaks of St. James's park, among other places, it makes me want to go back and wander through it imagining Virginia herself sitting in the park describing the scenes and people around her.

I will try and remember some contemporary books I have enjoyed that are set in London and then I'll get back to you! In the mean time, you might want to check out this website for ideas. If you move around the map, you'll find more books. It shows you where in London they are set and you can use the book titles to look up the one's you might be interested in on amazon.

[theenglishrory]

Sorry, forgot to include the website! Here you go...

www.getlondonreading.co.uk/Books-in-London

[Juliet]

"Hawksmoor" and "The Great Fire of London" by Peter Akroyd.

[ohcaptain]

Thanks so much everyone. And theenglishrory: I have read Mrs. Dalloway and loved it! The site also gave me a lot of great ideas. I'm actually off to the library now.

[belle]

Maybe this is last minute or you have already been to London by now, but I read "Imagined London: A Tour of the World's Greatest Fictional City " by Anna Quindlen before I went to London.

[zeldafitzgerald]

I love Bill Bryson - he's one of my favorite authors. His books about traveling are so awesome. It's not about just London, but I'm sure that his book about England - "Notes from a small island" would really be fun and put you in the mood for London with it's wonderful tales of England and the English people.

[Halie]

Lots and lots of chick-lit/romcom books are set in London. I don't know how realistic they are (many seem to be the literary/British version of Friends), but they're fun for a quick read. Plus you can be assured of a happy ending

[bookishgirl]

A Great and Terrible Beauty series. Thats a great choice, they are veryy good

[Katelyn]

London's one of my favorite cities on earth, I hope you have fun there! Here's a list of books I found that are set in London; it's from Wikipedia though so I don't know how reliable this list actually is.... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_in_fiction

[Katelyn]

I nearly forgot to add my recommendation: I read Brick Lane by Monica Ali a year or two ago; I really enjoyed reading it so I think you might enjoy reading it too.

[Kristie]

I can't recall many contemporary books set in London--I prefer anytime in London/England that isn't contemporary The Bridget Jones books are contemporary and were pretty good--the first better than the second.