The Great London Reading List! Essential London books that Londoners take away on holiday to remind them of home… books visitors should read before arriving in London… fact, fiction, poetry, all genres welcome. If you’re in the mood to recommend a great London bookshop, too, we’d love to hear it!All suggestions to the usual address, please, or leave a comment below or get in touch via Twitter @londonwalks.
No.1. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Adam writes… William Makepeace Thackeray’s
masterpiece has been compared to Tolstoy in its ambitious scope. And ambition
fires the book’s anti-heroine: the thrusting Becky Sharp. If Thackeray hasn’t
written the greatest English novel of all, then he has surely created the
nastiest piece of work in the canon in the shape of Miss Sharp. Her scramble up
the greasy pole of wealth and celebrity makes the soap divas of the 1980’s look
like so many maiden aunts at the proverbial vicarage tea party. Second best
character? London herself, from Chiswick to Russell Square, the capital of the
early 19th Century is portrayed in memorable detail.
See Thackeray’s house on the Old Kensington walk every Thursday at 2.00pm.
Adam
Adam, journalist, author and part-time musician, spends much of his time endeavouring to live up to his countryman J.M. Barrie's famous remark: "There are few more impressive sights in the world than a Scotsman on the make." His journalism has appeared in a variety of national newspapers and magazines and he is the Editor of The Daily Constitutional. A London Walk costs £9 – £7 concession. To join a London Walk, simply meet your guide at the designated tube station at the appointed time. Details of all London Walks can be found at www.walks.com.
