Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Ballantine Books (2002), Paperback, 1152 pages
Description
Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML:�A TOUR DE FORCE . . . London tracks the history of the English capital from the days of the Celts until the present time. . . . Breathtaking.��The Orlando Sentinel A master of epic historical fiction, Edward Rutherford gives us a sweeping novel of London, a glorious pageant spanning two thousand years. He brings this vibrant city's long and noble history alive through his saga of ever-shifting fortunes, fates, and intrigues of a half-dozen families, from the age of Julius Caesar to the twentieth century. Generation after generation, these families embody the passion, struggle, wealth, and verve of the greatest city in the Old World. Praise for London �Remarkable . . . The invasion by Julius Caesar�s legions in 54 B.C. . . . The rise of chivalry and the Crusades . . . The building of the Globe theatre . . . and the coming of the Industrial Revolution. . . . What a delightful way to get the feel of London and of English history. . . . We witness first-hand the lust of Henry VIII. We overhear Geoffrey Chaucer deciding to write The Canterbury Tales. . . . Each episode is a punchy tale made up of bite-size chunks ending in tiny cliffhangers.��The New York Times �Hold-your-breath suspense, buccaneering adventure, and passionate tales of love and war.��The Times (London) �Fascinating . . . A sprawling epic.��San Francisco Chronicle.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member literarytiger
I had started this book several years ago, got halfway through and then put it down. I picked it up again for the flight back to Australia, thinking that 1300 pages would probably keep me going and I am pleased to say it did. It is perfect airline reading - not too challenging, but still compelling
The difficulty with this type of book (which, I believe Edward Rutherford excels at) is that no story or character is ever really examined in depth - except one. London. London is the true hero of this book and all of the other people, personalities and families are merely bystanders. They provide colour and interest, enhancing the history and development of the city over the ages. Rutherford never lets a story stop abruptly - there is always some kind of closure for characters, even if the next section is set 200 years after, but you learn very quickly to let go of characters so you can move on.
Probably the biggest lessons I learnt from this book - which were things I already knew? How divisive and destructive religion has been over the years, how fortunes rise and fall, how short life is, and how minute that life is in the context of surrounding history. It was a fascinating read.
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so you want to keep going.The difficulty with this type of book (which, I believe Edward Rutherford excels at) is that no story or character is ever really examined in depth - except one. London. London is the true hero of this book and all of the other people, personalities and families are merely bystanders. They provide colour and interest, enhancing the history and development of the city over the ages. Rutherford never lets a story stop abruptly - there is always some kind of closure for characters, even if the next section is set 200 years after, but you learn very quickly to let go of characters so you can move on.
Probably the biggest lessons I learnt from this book - which were things I already knew? How divisive and destructive religion has been over the years, how fortunes rise and fall, how short life is, and how minute that life is in the context of surrounding history. It was a fascinating read.
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LibraryThing member Storeetllr
Fascinating and well-written fictional history of The City of London and its denizons from the mists of prehistory to 1977. Follows a few families through time. Worth the time it takes to read the 1100+ pages.
LibraryThing member Clara53
An epic read. (I knew it would be - as I had read another book by E. Rutherfurd - "Russka", in the same format). The book starts in the era even before London was called Londinium and takes you to modern times. I found it an excellent combination of fiction and non-fiction, as the novel's
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characters intermingled with the actual historical figures in a natural way - giving more than a whiff of history and at the same time making it very, very readable. Show Less
LibraryThing member AdonisGuilfoyle
I tried, I really, really tried, but this book is never-ending and was also dragging down my reading quota; I had to abandon ship 100 pages from finishing, even after skipping through tedious chapters like 'Lavender Hill', for my sanity, but I'm still counting this towards my total for the year. I
I struggled with New York too but enjoyed the structure and the characters, and actually learned about American history. London is an unfortunate mix of general historical infodumps, weak fictional characters built on quirks like webbed fingers and long noses, and not enough detail about the city itself, which was why I actually wanted to read this epic tome. I am fascinated with London history, even though I live in the north, and follow all kinds of history accounts on social media, but Rutherfurd only occasionally picks out gems like the history of St Paul's.
The author also writes women and minorities like Charles Dickens and Stephen King. I know he's writing about the past, but I feel like he agrees with the archaic takes on what makes a 'good wife' and the 'flood of immigrants' into the city. Also, he is strangely fixated with defining women by their physical attributes, which is obnoxious but also fairly typical - if none of the women actually 'breasted boobily' into a room, I suspect that is only because the meme came after the book.
Did I learn a little more about the history of London? Yes. Did I need fake family dynasties and lengthy infodumps about kings and playwrights straight out of textbooks to do so? Nope. Could this book have been half the length and still worked? 100%! Will I probably try to read Paris at some point in the future, when, like labour pains, I've forgotten about this experience? No doubt!
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deserve the credit!I struggled with New York too but enjoyed the structure and the characters, and actually learned about American history. London is an unfortunate mix of general historical infodumps, weak fictional characters built on quirks like webbed fingers and long noses, and not enough detail about the city itself, which was why I actually wanted to read this epic tome. I am fascinated with London history, even though I live in the north, and follow all kinds of history accounts on social media, but Rutherfurd only occasionally picks out gems like the history of St Paul's.
The author also writes women and minorities like Charles Dickens and Stephen King. I know he's writing about the past, but I feel like he agrees with the archaic takes on what makes a 'good wife' and the 'flood of immigrants' into the city. Also, he is strangely fixated with defining women by their physical attributes, which is obnoxious but also fairly typical - if none of the women actually 'breasted boobily' into a room, I suspect that is only because the meme came after the book.
Did I learn a little more about the history of London? Yes. Did I need fake family dynasties and lengthy infodumps about kings and playwrights straight out of textbooks to do so? Nope. Could this book have been half the length and still worked? 100%! Will I probably try to read Paris at some point in the future, when, like labour pains, I've forgotten about this experience? No doubt!
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LibraryThing member PensiveCat
Rutherfurd follows families living in London from the Roman invasion until the Blitz, as their fortunes rise and fall. The Plague, the sacking of Savoy Palace, Elizabethan playrights, all are covered in this saga. Through this novel you will gain a well-rounded lesson of London's history.
LibraryThing member mattviews
Edward Rutherfurd's London embodies the noble history and heritage of the city in the past two centuries. Whether it is Rutherfurd's tour de force of story telling or a thorough research in the historical archive, London opens to readers the windows to the past, through the capricious,
London is nothing but a historical fiction that builds upon the history of the city over 2000 years, from Ice Age to Julius Caesar, to the Medieval, to Renaissance and present. So long as readers scrupulously follows the chronological account, the intricate family lines and the overlap and interactions between the very families, it is an absorbing read, though I do not find it intriguing. The book resembles a huge, endless compression of the lives of a sampling of Londoners during their respective times. Generations after generations, these very families coincidentally found themselves befriending, collaborating, fighting, persevering, revenging, marrying and colluding each other among the ever-shifting fortunes, destinies, political crisis, and wars. Family genealogy somehow holds the novel in one piece or else the book reads like a bunch of stories with innumerable characters.
Readers who are not familiar with London and its historical landmarks might find the book somewhat difficult to grasp. Rutherfurd gives succinct details on landmarks such as the Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Covents Garden, Royal Society of London, Twinings Tea Shop, Museum of London, West End, Soho, and the Big Ben. Rutherfurd uses these landmarks as backdrop to his characters. The author also deftly captures significant history of the city such as the Viking's invasion in 1088, the London Riot in 1189, the Black Death pandemic that hit all of Europe in 1348, the Peasant's Revolt in 1381, Civil War in 1649, the London's Fire in 1666, the establishment of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich in 1675, opening of Twinings Tea Shop in 1750, the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918, and Hitler's Blitzkrieg on London in 1940.
Incidences of literary interest were the authorship of the Canterberry Tales. Geoffrey Chaucer himself was among one of the characters. The English theater flourished under Queen Elizabeth's reign and Shakespeare wrote only half of all his plays when the period of theater ended. The Bible also infiltrated London in 1382 and raised such alarm among church authorities. Almost concurrently the King appointed himself the Supreme Head of Church which entitled him the power to not only take in all revenues and appoint bishops and abbots, but to decide on all church doctrines just so to thwart heresy.
London could be a rewarding read should readers wish to learn about the history of the city under a literary context. It is a thorough factual account in literary form. But it is far less captivating as the book claims and readers might have to trudge a bit through the not-so-interesting and absorbing prose. Readers might not be able to recall most of the characters and the happenings despite the significant historical occurrences.
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ever-shifting fortunes, lives, destinies, and amazing interactions of several families. Their webbed hands characterized the Duckets who were down the family line of Leofric. The Silversleeves were of Norman descent and got brawny built. A hurried Norman clerk had made one of the few but egregious mistakes in which he forgot to record Duckets' ancestors as free. The Duckets, through some ever-shifting and checkered fate, existed also under the name Dogget.London is nothing but a historical fiction that builds upon the history of the city over 2000 years, from Ice Age to Julius Caesar, to the Medieval, to Renaissance and present. So long as readers scrupulously follows the chronological account, the intricate family lines and the overlap and interactions between the very families, it is an absorbing read, though I do not find it intriguing. The book resembles a huge, endless compression of the lives of a sampling of Londoners during their respective times. Generations after generations, these very families coincidentally found themselves befriending, collaborating, fighting, persevering, revenging, marrying and colluding each other among the ever-shifting fortunes, destinies, political crisis, and wars. Family genealogy somehow holds the novel in one piece or else the book reads like a bunch of stories with innumerable characters.
Readers who are not familiar with London and its historical landmarks might find the book somewhat difficult to grasp. Rutherfurd gives succinct details on landmarks such as the Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Covents Garden, Royal Society of London, Twinings Tea Shop, Museum of London, West End, Soho, and the Big Ben. Rutherfurd uses these landmarks as backdrop to his characters. The author also deftly captures significant history of the city such as the Viking's invasion in 1088, the London Riot in 1189, the Black Death pandemic that hit all of Europe in 1348, the Peasant's Revolt in 1381, Civil War in 1649, the London's Fire in 1666, the establishment of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich in 1675, opening of Twinings Tea Shop in 1750, the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918, and Hitler's Blitzkrieg on London in 1940.
Incidences of literary interest were the authorship of the Canterberry Tales. Geoffrey Chaucer himself was among one of the characters. The English theater flourished under Queen Elizabeth's reign and Shakespeare wrote only half of all his plays when the period of theater ended. The Bible also infiltrated London in 1382 and raised such alarm among church authorities. Almost concurrently the King appointed himself the Supreme Head of Church which entitled him the power to not only take in all revenues and appoint bishops and abbots, but to decide on all church doctrines just so to thwart heresy.
London could be a rewarding read should readers wish to learn about the history of the city under a literary context. It is a thorough factual account in literary form. But it is far less captivating as the book claims and readers might have to trudge a bit through the not-so-interesting and absorbing prose. Readers might not be able to recall most of the characters and the happenings despite the significant historical occurrences.
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LibraryThing member azriona
Edward Rutherford does his homework and this book is evidence of it. A long time fan of Michner, I settle into Rutherford looking forward to a good historical romp through a place I may or may not be familiar with, and generally enjoy myself.
What a pity I've never been to London because knowing the
My biggest disappointment with London was that Rutherford ignored large parts of history that may have been the most interesting. He begins with Julius Caesar and the Roman conquest of England, paying little attention to the life of the Druids who lived for centuries undisturbed on the island. He then skips along through the next thousand years, pausing briefly to discuss the introduction of Christianity before jumping to the Crusades.
The majority of the novel takes place in the last 500 years, and to me seems more a history of England than of London itself. Too many of the characters are upper class to be interesting. You can read about upper class Englishmen in Elizabethan times in just about any novel you pick up these days. I would have enjoyed it more to hear about the lower classes, or to stay with the merchants as Rutherford does earlier in these centuries.
Which is not to say the book isn't worth reading. Each chapter is a good story within itself, showing a portrait of a given time and how the people who lived in it might have acted. I always enjoy seeing how several families may interact with each other over centuries without realizing it. I think the first half of the book was the most interesting, but then I read a lot of novels that take place in Elizabethan and later times so the earlier time periods are less familiar.
In short, if you're at the library and want to grab one more nice thick book, maybe for a long train or plane ride, this is a good one.
What a pity I've never been to London because knowing the
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layout of the city a bit better I might have understood a good deal more in this book. The maps in the front were abysmal and didn't help in the slightest. I soon gave up looking at them and concentrated on the characters. Rutherford threw in so many small jokes throughout the generations in reference to their ancestors, I wonder how many I missed that were refering to real places in London?My biggest disappointment with London was that Rutherford ignored large parts of history that may have been the most interesting. He begins with Julius Caesar and the Roman conquest of England, paying little attention to the life of the Druids who lived for centuries undisturbed on the island. He then skips along through the next thousand years, pausing briefly to discuss the introduction of Christianity before jumping to the Crusades.
The majority of the novel takes place in the last 500 years, and to me seems more a history of England than of London itself. Too many of the characters are upper class to be interesting. You can read about upper class Englishmen in Elizabethan times in just about any novel you pick up these days. I would have enjoyed it more to hear about the lower classes, or to stay with the merchants as Rutherford does earlier in these centuries.
Which is not to say the book isn't worth reading. Each chapter is a good story within itself, showing a portrait of a given time and how the people who lived in it might have acted. I always enjoy seeing how several families may interact with each other over centuries without realizing it. I think the first half of the book was the most interesting, but then I read a lot of novels that take place in Elizabethan and later times so the earlier time periods are less familiar.
In short, if you're at the library and want to grab one more nice thick book, maybe for a long train or plane ride, this is a good one.
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LibraryThing member santhony
Typical Rutherfurd historical fiction, with London as the subject. Very similar in style to much of Michener's work.
LibraryThing member Dharma05
I love this book. I have read it 3 times. I borrowed it from a friend, when having surgery and a lot of time off of work. I have now purchased my own copy and am reading it again! After my first reading,I went to London shortly after on a holiday, but I want to go again and look at more places,
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incorporating my family history research. I know it is ficitional in characters, but I can never put it down. It makes me feel as if I am there. Living in Australia as I do, and loving English history, this book fascinates me, and is the best ever I have read about the evolution of London. There are many better more accurate historical books, but this is my favourite. I have now bought New York, and also a 2nd hand copy of The Forest, niether of which I can get into, although I did find this about London, for the 1st quarter of the book. I want all of Rutherfurd's books eventually. I hope my brand new copy gets as dogged eared as my friend's as it means to me it is loved. I have never read a book 3 times in 3 years, and I am an ex library technician.!!!! Show Less
LibraryThing member emclem
London is by far Edward Rutherfurd's best book to date. This historical novel traces London through the centuries, following a few families through the more notable eras in London's history, such as the Roman era, Shakespeare's London, The Great Fire, the building of St. Paul's, etc. It reads very
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quickly, and gives the reader a wonderful sense of how a city changes throughout time. Show Less
LibraryThing member BoomChick
I read this before going to London and have also recommended it to many people. I love Rutherfurd, he's great. He does use the word "estuary" kind of a lot!
LibraryThing member SaraPoole
I’ve been a fan of Rutherfurd’s since reading his debut novel, “Sarum”. “London” remains my favorite, possibly because of my great fondness for that city but also because of the bang-up job Rutherfurd does bringing it to life. He starts at the beginning—the end of the last Ice
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Age—and goes full-tilt from there on. Following the fortunes of six families, the story winds through the Roman occupation to the days of Chaucer, the Globe Theatre, Dickens, and beyond. The pace is fast, characters come and go a little quickly, but overall this is a satisfying read that will sweep you away into the heart and soul of a fascinating city. Show Less
LibraryThing member littlebookworm
This is the best of Edward Rutherfurd's sweeping sagas that I have read so far. He provides a splendid continuity in this one and a much deeper sense of the location he evokes - I'm not sure why it's different because I can't pinpoint the differences, but it just is. This book is wonderful, each
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little vignette connected to the last, marching forward through the inevitable progress of time. I loved it. I only gave it four stars, though, because Rutherfurd has a technique that I don't like very much. He constantly uses obvious cliffhangers, such as "She knew what she had to do" and leaves it at that for several pages. The device becomes monotonous quickly. Regardless, this magnificent saga provides a sweeping historical sense of London and its people, and comes highly recommended by me. Show Less
LibraryThing member ddonahue
Excellent narrative lending structure to the dates and names of English history. Must read again before visiting London
LibraryThing member marcLeroux84
London is one of my favorite cities, and reading London was a joy. The book is long; spawning the time from pre-Roman times to post WW2. Well written, with ties into his other books, the story is engaging and contains a tremendous amount of 'trivia', ranging from the origin of words, to some of the
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architectural features of London. Show Less
LibraryThing member Neilsantos
I really like these. Ed's too fond of the word "magnificent" but there are plenty of other words in his books.
LibraryThing member campat53
Overlapping the story of Sarum in some spots, you get characters you're familiar with, occasionally. Again, I've read this several times and never tire of it.
LibraryThing member heidialice
An epic historical tale of 2000 years of London following a few families over the generations.
I enjoyed this book quite a bit and learned a lot about London’s history. I found it more like a series of connected short stories than a novel and was unable to really get invested in the characters
I enjoyed this book quite a bit and learned a lot about London’s history. I found it more like a series of connected short stories than a novel and was unable to really get invested in the characters
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since they were gone so quickly. The book’s poor copy-editing really started to get to me, and by the end it seems they hadn’t even bothered to spell-check. I think I prefer the pacing of Sharon Kay Penman, where strong individual characters are lovingly developed, years are skipped but continuity is preserved. It felt like Rutherford relied too much on the “stereotypes” he had created for his families, rather than taking time to develop individuals. I would certainly recommend this book as a good read, though. Show Less
LibraryThing member Mendoza
I am continually amazed at the massive undertaking this type of novel presents to an author. And Rutherford has done it numerous times!
I emjoy London the best of his works so far. Spanning 2,000 years of the city's history, the novel follows the story of a number of families. There's no particular
It can be difficult to follow at times - but worth the effort in the end.
I emjoy London the best of his works so far. Spanning 2,000 years of the city's history, the novel follows the story of a number of families. There's no particular
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plot to this novel, only a series of short vignettes from each major era of London's history. It can be difficult to follow at times - but worth the effort in the end.
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LibraryThing member john257hopper
I am a huge fan of Edward Rutherfurd and other similar authors, such as Valerie Anand and James Michener. This is a wonderful book and, although one could pick holes in the coverage (e.g. the 15th century is almost totally ignored), this is probably not fair given the huge range of potential
The maps could be better as they attempt to cover too broad a sweep of time within each map.
The family trees are a mixed blessing. Part of me wishes they were more detailed and included missing characters/generations and even dates (a la the genealogies in Valerie Anand's Bridges Over Time series), but another part of me recognises that this will give away even more plot details. Even as it is, if you look at the family tree before starting a chapter, you can see relationships before they emerge in the text (e.g. the identity of "the Guv'nor" in the Crystal Palace chapter).
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material and the fact that the publishers may not have accepted an even longer manuscript.The maps could be better as they attempt to cover too broad a sweep of time within each map.
The family trees are a mixed blessing. Part of me wishes they were more detailed and included missing characters/generations and even dates (a la the genealogies in Valerie Anand's Bridges Over Time series), but another part of me recognises that this will give away even more plot details. Even as it is, if you look at the family tree before starting a chapter, you can see relationships before they emerge in the text (e.g. the identity of "the Guv'nor" in the Crystal Palace chapter).
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LibraryThing member MikeD
Like Michner, Rutherford knows how to give a history lesson in a novel... and does it very well here! We start in 54 AD on the river Thames following a family whose father has a couple unique physical characteristics and follow this family thru many generations culminating in 1997 AD. During this
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adventure we learn much about the history of London and meet many historical characters who interact with this family. Richard the Lion Hearted, Becket, Oliver Cromwell, Henry VIII, Will Shakespere, and many more. A long read at almost 1200 pages, but well worth it! Show Less
LibraryThing member bokai
I don't usually associate 800+ pages with the term 'beach read', but that is what London turned out to be, a very long beach read. As entertaining as it was, it was shallow, and Rutherfurd did not meet the challenge of writing a single piece of fiction that encompassed all of human history with
It was somewhat entertaining to see the multiple family lines London follows mingle, split, and warp through the ages, and up until the chapter The Tower, the novelty of London's concept was still fresh. There were some moments of real suspense at times, and once or twice a character would stand out from the multitudes of his or her kin, but soon the plot of each chapter was feeling tedious, and the characters were all melding into each other, with only the context of their era giving them strong distinction.
For the most part, each chapter in London is a sub story separate from the others by some great rift in time or made distinct by some important event in London's history. While many chapters can stand alone in this way, there are a few that seem to lack any sort of closure, and by the next chapter Rutherfurd has moved on to something else so that I was left asking 'wait, that's it?'. Some chapters, particularly near the end, seems to be short slice of life moments that catch up on a few stray threads and leave it at that. Like any healthy family tree, the population of characters in London balloons out and becomes so unwieldy that there doesn't seem to be any focus by the end. There is some illustration of how people have changed with the times (which I grant was one of the most interesting parts of the book), but the reader is given no time to familiarize himself with the setting before he is whisked away to the next decade. At its worst London feel like an endless parade of introductions for this reason.
It is its prose that screams beach read the loudest. It is firmly decent and unobtrusive. It is a rare occasion that a line is worth reading for its own sake, and there were bits I would have edited the heck out of myself, but it was all easily digestible in the end. There is nothing challenging in here, nor is there anything offensive. London is about as OK a novel as I will ever read.
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complete success. It was somewhat entertaining to see the multiple family lines London follows mingle, split, and warp through the ages, and up until the chapter The Tower, the novelty of London's concept was still fresh. There were some moments of real suspense at times, and once or twice a character would stand out from the multitudes of his or her kin, but soon the plot of each chapter was feeling tedious, and the characters were all melding into each other, with only the context of their era giving them strong distinction.
For the most part, each chapter in London is a sub story separate from the others by some great rift in time or made distinct by some important event in London's history. While many chapters can stand alone in this way, there are a few that seem to lack any sort of closure, and by the next chapter Rutherfurd has moved on to something else so that I was left asking 'wait, that's it?'. Some chapters, particularly near the end, seems to be short slice of life moments that catch up on a few stray threads and leave it at that. Like any healthy family tree, the population of characters in London balloons out and becomes so unwieldy that there doesn't seem to be any focus by the end. There is some illustration of how people have changed with the times (which I grant was one of the most interesting parts of the book), but the reader is given no time to familiarize himself with the setting before he is whisked away to the next decade. At its worst London feel like an endless parade of introductions for this reason.
It is its prose that screams beach read the loudest. It is firmly decent and unobtrusive. It is a rare occasion that a line is worth reading for its own sake, and there were bits I would have edited the heck out of myself, but it was all easily digestible in the end. There is nothing challenging in here, nor is there anything offensive. London is about as OK a novel as I will ever read.
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LibraryThing member gregory_gwen
Quite a long one... but London's been around for a long time! I liked the way the story followed families through the history of the city, all they way from Roman times to the present. I didn't really care for the ending in 1997 - it seemed a bit anticlimactic - but I guess it's hard to end such a
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monumental work. Show Less
LibraryThing member LTFL_JMLS
Quite a long one... but London's been around for a long time! I liked the way the story followed families through the history of the city, all they way from Roman times to the present. I didn't really care for the ending in 1997 - it seemed a bit anticlimactic - but I guess it's hard to end such a
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monumental work. Show Less
LibraryThing member Anntstobbs
This was a very good but very long book. I traces the history of the town of London from the early 500 a.d. until 1995. It traces the history of the Doggett, Bull and Silversleeves families. Every different chapter is an entirely new book with new characters and new stories with only the traces of
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family history and the London tow changes to bundle them together. I loved it. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 1999)
Whitcoulls Top 100 Books (91 — 2008)
Original publication date
1997
Physical description
1152 p.; 5.55 inches
ISBN
0345455681 / 9780345455680