Product Description

A guide to the London novel, starting with its origins in the Victorian metropolis and moving through to the present day and the revival of London writing. Includes examination of the Occult Tradition, London Noir, the Disaster Novel and the rise of Psychogeography and features both recognised classics and the work of lost London writers. From Bleak House to Hawksmoor, from Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde to White Chappell Scarlet Tracings, London has continued to generate a series of fantastic visions - Merlin Coverley traces their genesis and influence in this volume.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #57971 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-06
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Synopsis
What do writers such as Charles Dickens and Peter Ackroyd, Iain Sinclair and Robert Louis Stevenson have in common? The answer lies in the use these authors make of London as a fictional setting. Yet in these works and in those of other London writers the city is much more than merely a backdrop, instead becoming a character in its own right and creating a sense of place that is both a reflection and a reworking of the city. Here London is presented as a living organism, a huge and mysterious labyrinth, and the source of endless imagination. A whole world is contained by the city and within it the entire spectrum of human experience. From Bleak House to Hawksmoor, from Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to White Chappell Scarlet Tracings, London has continued to generate a series of fantastic visions. The humorous and the tragic, the grotesque and the bizarre, everything is possible here. In this book, Merlin Coverley examines the major themes in the development of the London novel from its origins in the Victorian metropolis and onward to the present day and the revival of London writing.

On the way he explores the Occult Tradition and London Noir, the Disaster Novel and the rise of Psychogeography, and alongside the recognised classics of the genre he recovers some of those lost London writers whose works have been unjustly neglected.

Customer Reviews

London Writing by Merlin Coverley
A whirlwind tour through London's literary history from Dickens to the present day. Stops en route include Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, Arthur Machen and JG Ballard. Besides these well-known authors there are a number of less familiar names: Gerald Kersh and Sam Selvon, Alexander Baron and Derek Raymond. Coverley includes the historical context of these novels alongside a short plot summary, key quotes and an evaluation. Essential reading for all those who love the city and the books it has inspired.