Literary London

Discover one of the best cities in the world through the lens of some of the most iconic writers who have ever lived.Literary Londonfollows in the footsteps of those literary legends to prove that - as another famous local writer put it – he who is tired of London is tired of life.

London has long inspired and celebrated books and writing, and some of the most well-known and beloved names in English Literature have all passed through the city – William Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf and Oscar Wilde, to name a few. With Literary London as your guide, walk in their footsteps, discover their old stomping grounds and shine a new light on both the authors and their city.

Decorated with illustrations, maps, and interspersed with fact boxes about the lives of major London writers, this book delves deep into literary history to reveal a hidden world of spies, romantic poets and revolutionary outcasts, journeying via the publishing houses, cafes and parks that have played their part in inspiring them over the years.

Traversing both genres and historical periods, Literary London is a snappy and informative guide to a city steeped in history and culture, telling the stories behind the stories.

Eloise Millar’s first novel, Wednesday's Child, was published by Virago and went on to be shortlisted for the YoungMinds Award. She is also a journalist and co-founded Galley Beggar Press, the independent publishing press that published Eimar McBride’s A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing.

Sam Jordison is a journalist, author and publisher. He writes for the Guardian. He is the author of The 10 Worst of Everything. He is also the co-director of the award-winning indie publisher Galley Beggar Press. He lives in Norwich.