The Little Book of London - Hardcover

David Long

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0750948000 ISBN 13: 9780750948005

Publisher: The History Press Ltd, 2007

Synopsis

The Little Book of London is a funny, fast-paced, fact-packed compendium full of the sort of frivolous, fantastic or simply strange information which no-one will want to be without. London's looniest laws, its most eccentric inhabitants, the realities of being royal and literally hundreds of wacky facts about the world's greatest city combine to make it required reading for visitors and locals alike.

About this title

Review:

Those of us who live in London and love the city (despite all its manifold faults) often have our own list of clandestine destinations, secrets and interesting facts about the capital -- which we’re happy to show off to people not lucky enough to live here. But however well you think you know London, the chances are good that that David Long's The Little Book of London will enlarge your storehouse of knowledge. The quirky facts here are delightfully arcane -- such as the fact that the guns of HMS Belfast, moored on the Thames near Tower Bridge, are targeted at Barnet and, if fired, would destroy Scratchwood Services on the M1. Or the fact that the first parking meters were installed in Mayfair with a charge of a shilling (enough to keep parking attendants at bay for an hour -- the same amount today would buy you 45 seconds). In fact, it is often the wonderful historical nuggets here that are the most entertaining, even the grisly ones (such as the watchmaker who threw himself off the Whispering Gallery in St Paul's Cathedral in 1856, or the man who took a similar dive from the North Tower of the Crystal Palace 12 years later). Such items are crammed into the nearly 200 pages of this eccentric book, so if you are seeking bizarre facts about the railways, the Royal family, theatres or the number of rock stars who have popped their clogs in London, it's all here. And did you know that when Conan Doyle installed Sherlock Holmes in 221b Baker Street, the street numbering ran no further than 85? (That's the trouble with this book – you can't resist quoting it!) --Barry Forshaw

Review:

'Long has unearthed enough information, trivia, news and history
to entertain
and entrance the reader for a long time....Endless fun' -- Travel Special, Publishing News, July 2007

`A coruscating compendium of wacky facts, The Little Book of
London from David Long may be little in size
but it's big on information and my favourite trivia read this year.' -- Sue Barker, Publishing News, July 2007

`Quite an incredible wealth of information...an endorsement at
the highest level should be given to The Little Book of London.'
-- Robert Elms Show, BBC Radio London, 29 August 2007

About this edition

• Publisher: The History Press Ltd
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0750948000
• ISBN 13: 9780750948005
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192