Books set in London

[argyllherewecome]

Needing a bit of a London fix, any suggestions for books set in London? Doesn't have to be a major part, just small references. Bonus points if it's a mews setting or somewhere quite nice.

London has this unique way of becoming a character in the books set within its streets.

I completely disagree, I think many places can become a character. For example, Glasgow in the books of Alasdair Gray, Naples in Elena Ferrante's novels, Cornwall in Daphne du Maurier.

And, on TV, New York City is a character in many shows.

However, I think that poster is keener on selling us his link....

Yes, Edinburgh is a character in loads of books, the Rebus series for example

Quite

I just bought this very excited to start!

One of our local authors wrote a good one set around St Pancras and soho which is good - thriller. Someone Like You. Set now rather than historical

Brideshead Revisited - lots of London between the wars, plus bits of Wiltshire, Paris and the Atlantic Ocean

Dorothy Richardson's Pilgrimage

Most of the Barbara Vine/Ruth Rendell stories are London-based and excellent they are too

If you like a bit of Fantasy the Ben AAronivitch (sp?) books are really good

Can I ask if you need to read the whole series or is each book concluded?

@Brienneoftarthismyhero It helps if you read them in order of publication, as the characters develop and there are references to previous cases and so on, but each book is a complete story in itself.

Thank you to whoever recommended ordinary thunderstorms on this thread, I have started it off the back of this thread and i am really enjoying it. Love how the river seems to be at the core of the story. I am having a horrible time at the minute and this book has been a great distraction. Love William Boyd.

Lots of the CJ Sansom Shardlake novels are set in London (there are exceptions eg York, Portsmouth) and you get to find out about the history of some of the streets. Really interesting.

Joy and Josephine (Monica Dickens) gives an earlier view of contrasting parts and lifestyles in London. And One Pair of Hands takes you on an autobiographical tour of various London households, including her own home in Chepstow Villas.

Watchmaker of Filigree Street www.goodreads.com/book/show/22929563-the-watchmaker-of-filigree-street

Greg Keen

Soho Ghosts
Soho Dead
Solo Angels

Peter Ackroyd - Hawksmoor

"It tells the parallel stories of Nicholas Dyer, who builds seven churches in 18th-century London for which he needs human sacrifices, and Nicholas Hawksmoor, detective in the 1980s, who investigates murders committed in the same churches."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawksmoor_(novel)

Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere is set in London and an alternate underground London.

Michael Moorcock's Mother London is fascinating

Love this book! Haven't heard it mentioned by anybody else ever!

Came here to say this.

My favourite book, and possibly my favourite author.

Nicki French - especially the Frieda Klein series, the first one is Blue Monday. I really enjoyed the references to unknown or unusual places in London.

When I first read it in my early 20s I was obsessed! I actually went to London to find all the streets and houses mentioned.

I really like Love is Blue too but don't have my own copy any more

I need to read that one, can't believe I haven't got around to it yet.