Another police series which I enjoy is by Deborah Crombie with Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James working for the Met. It's set mainly in London, but does branch out.

"London" by Edward Rutherford is a HUGE book, but I was able to slog all the way through it just before I spent three months in London. I found myself thinking about the history of the various parts of London as I walked around. It's not great literature, but it gave me a perspective of London.

Try "The Bastard's Tale," by Margaret Frazier. It's part of her excellent series about a nun--not all the books are set in London, but this one is. You'll never forget the last two chapters.

Many of Georgette Heyer's Regency books are set in London and are delightful reading.

The Matthew Shardlake historical mysteries by Sansome give a great feel of Tudor London; P. D. James rates "Dissolution" among her top five.

Finally, Christopher Fowler has an excellent series based in London; the first is "Full Dark House.

The Crombie books are some of the best around.

I liked "London" quite a lot. I also think "Pillars of the Earth" is good for background on England. Bill Bryson's "Notes from a Small Island" is and excellent funny book, and I once read a , ebook by Paul Thouroux (sp) about riding the trains all around England especially the little gauge trains that are probably gone now. Though about trains, it was more about the towns on the way and the people in them. It was fascinating.

edit - should read "a book by Paul Thouroux", not "an e book". Have no idea if it is an e book or not.

Peter Ackroyd is an acknowledged 'expert' on London and has written some excellent fiction and non fiction books about the city.
I loved Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, some of which is set in London.
Another superb novel is Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke.

A Tale of Two Cities?

That's Paul Theroux's The Kingdom by the Sea; A Journey Around the Coast of Great Britain [by train and on foot].

For historical context and an explanation of the momentous social changes since the 1880s David Cannadine's highly entertaining and informative The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy.

Not fiction, but the very best writings about London , including it's history are by H. V.Morton. There are 6 or 7 about London , some on English countryside, and some on Italy. He is an exceptional writer.

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~billgoman/

The above link didn't work, use this instead.

http://tinyurl.com/cfv3sj


Link to the H V Morton Society

For a survey of the London literary landscape, Donna Dailey & John Tomedi's London in the Bloom's Literary Places series.

down and out in London and Paris

All the detective novels written by Peter Lovesey are great, but especially his Peter Diamond series, set in the city of Bath. Lovesey is a terrific writer.

For non-fiction, I recommend "The Anglo Files" by Sarah Lyall, which I just finished reading. It is a very entertaining look at various aspects of English society and psychology.

Second the suggestion of Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island.

I LOVE the Agatha Raisin mysteries by M. C. Beaton (just finished reading the newest one). They are set in the Cotswolds. M. C. Beaton also wrote the Hamish Macbeth mysteries that were made into a television series shown on PBS years ago. They are also good, but are set in the Scottish highlands.

Also love the John Rebus detective novels by Ian Rankin - set in Edinburgh, Scotland.

For mysteries I agree Deborah Crombie's are good. Also
Reginald Hill
Robert Barnard
P.D. James
Ruth Rendell
Peter Dickinson

PEnelope Lively's City of the Mind is set in London

Anthony Powell's Dance to the Music of Time

A great new one is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It is written in the form of correspondence just after WWII, somewhat like Helene Hanff's delightful 84 Charing Cross Road.

Muriel Sparks' A Far Cry from Kensington is excellent. Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, who is wonderful, has a mystery series as well as an enormous historical series set in Yorkshire but dealing with all the wars from the War of the Roses forward and not yet up to date.

There are tons of English mysteries, my favorite genre. You can look at the site Stop, You're Killing Me to find series listed by date of publication. I agree re Deborah Crombie. Others I especially like are Peter Robinson, Charles Todd, Kate Charles, Bruce Alexander for 17th century, Anne Perry for Victorian, Patricia Hall's Simon Serrailler series, Will Thomas.

I can go on! And don't forget Agatha Christie.

What? No one has mentioned Jane Bloody Austen? I am shocked - shocked, I tell you!

I'll second Margaret Frazer's Dame Frevisse series, and also suggest Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael mysteries, set in and around Shrewsbury Abbey.

P.G. Wodehouse is a must-read as well.

Lee Ann

A couple of the Narnia books are partly set in London.

Anything by Ruth Rendell or her alter ego Barbara Vine, the wonderful PD James, Ngaio Marsh. The series by Jasper Fforde - can't think what they're called but they're a takeoff on nursery rhymes.

There's a detective series set in Aberdeen, Scotland that I enjoyed. Stop You're Killing Me lists detective novels by locale if you're interested.

Lee Ann,

I was thinking the same thing! I believe Persuasion features more areas in England that that other Austen books.

Totally in agreement about Agatha Christie. I know most people love Poirot or Miss Marple, but I fell in love with Tommy and Tuppence(I guess you could call her plucky since I can't think of a better description) - great characters who kind of fall into the detective business since they need work after serving in WWI. I think the very first one that features them is called "The Secret Adversary".

I'm also surprised no one mentioned Elizabeth Gaskell. I actually watched and became a huge fan of the BBC version of her novel, "North & South", and then got around to reading the book. I think it's set in the 1850-1860's in an industrial town in the North of England(the town is based on Manchester). The relationship between the two main characters are eerily similar to Pride and Prejudice, but a big part of the novel focuses on the relationships between the factories owners and their workers. It's a really fantastic novel.

Penel523,

Did you enjoy reading the Inspector Lynley mysteries? I've heard people say the books were much better than the series, which I haven't been able to see yet.

Let's have another go shall we?

The best author IMHO for catching the reality of real modern london is Martin Amis - try London Fields, the Rachel Papers or Money.

There's a series of detective books by Mark Billingham which have the apparently impossible trick of actually getting the bits about how the police really work right. They revolve around a detective in Kentish Town and again are good on the non tourist bits of London

A slightly wilder suggestion is Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, in which there is an underground fantasy london populated by the people the placenames suggest - ie a blacksmith in hammersmith, an angel in Islington, knights in knightsbridge and so on. It's better than I am making it sound.

I second Neverwhere. It's SciFI but I found it fanscinating how Gaiman wove the station names into his story his take on urban Tube riders. It was also made into a BBC miniseries awhile back.

If were mentioning historical, what about Sherlock Holmes? Racing all over London in hansom cabs during foggy days and nights.

Anna - Have you read 'The Light Years' series of books by Gaskell - they are the most brilliant depiction of pre-war and wartime Britain, contrasting the lives of the middle classes and their servants.

Anna - I've read all the Lynley books, except one and loved them all. I've also seen all the movies (5 series, if I remember correctly). Read the books first and read them in order to get the full character development. The movies are loosely based on the books and some are based on the characters (much like the Morse series).

I also second the Agatha Raisin series (also read in order). If you're looking for a quirky cozy mystery, this series is at the top of the list. They're short, light, and engaging.

Some other authors/books I don't see mentioned here(fiction):

Joanna Trolloppe (The Choir, The Rector's Wife)
Rosamond Pilcher (The Shell Seekers)
Muriel Spark (The Girls of Slender Means)
Hazel Holt (Mrs. Malory mysteries)
Sally Spencer (Inspector Woodend mysteries, set in the 1960s)
Veronica Stallwood (Kate Ivory mysteries set in Oxford; only the early books are published in the US but the later books can be ordered from Amazon UK)

I think the early Agatha Raisin books are out of print in the US but my local libraries have the entire series.

Saturday by Ian McEwan is set in London and most of his books are set in Britain.

" Notes from an exhihition" by Patrick Gale, an excellent book set in the West Country so are most of his books.

"Engelby" by Sebastian Faulk, the story goes from Oxford, Reading to London.

penel, I hope you won't mind too much if I highjack your wonderful thread slightly to ask if anyone has suggestions for books set in York? (Other than the much appreciated one above for Cynthia Harrod-Eagles.)

The Dress Lodger by Holman

Behind the Scenes at the Museum (York) by Kate Atkinson

The James Herriot books (Yorkshire)

Novels by the Brontes (Yorkshire)

Ian McEwan's novels

Thanks, Cath!

For a London setting, try the wonderful "The Uncommon Reader." It's sheer delght.

Fiona Buckley does a good Elizabethan series. A friend gave me the first and I read straight through the rest.

Ellis Peters, author of the beloved Brother Cadfael series, is actually Edith Pargeter. Under that name she wrote a number of historical novels, of which "The Heaven Tree," "The Green Branch," and "The Scarlet Seed" are some of my all-time favorites.

P.S. The Lynley books are definitely a cut above the TV series--it doesn't help that the otherwise fine Nathaniel Parker doesn't look anything like his description in the books.

Jasmine, welcome to Fodors, I hope you enjoy the site. We generally don't re-vitalise old threads, but start new ones. Please start as many as you like, we will all pile in and discuss etc.

There are various reasons for that, not least that contributers and knowledge has changed, old news is no news as they say.

"Bridget Jones with guns and dead bodies"
Looks interesting

A number of the excellent novels by Joanna Trollope are set in London.

These are some of my most recent favorites - meaning having read them within the last number of years:

The Bryant and May series by Christopher Fowler - detectives in WWII and now-ish - most if not all set entirely in London

Bruce Alexander's Sir John Fielding novels set in the 18th century re the beginning of the Bow Street Runners - all set in London

The Carbon Diaries, 2015 by Saci Lloyd - futuristic set in very near future where recognizable London deals with some environmental and political challenges

Anne Perry series featuring Pitt and Monk - two separate series - a little dark and repetitive sometimes, but then sometimes fresh and intriguing, like the most recent, Dorchester Terrace

William Boyd: Ordinary Thunderstorms
http://www.williamboyd.co.uk/ordinary-thunderstorms

Speak for yourself Bilbo;

I find old news to be of tremendous value.
Contributers do change and thus not post on a new thread.

Would you lose all that perspective just because conversation began a few years ago?

I'd rather open a few comprehensive threads than a multitude of new threads on same subject posted over and over.

I like old threads. I found some here to order from library, and reminders of old favorites.

I wouldn't have ever read Amis' Money if not for Cholmondley_W, was glad I did.

Has Peter Carey's 'Jack Maggs' been mentioned? One of my all time favorites.

How about Philippa Gregory for historical novels of royalty ie. The Other Boleyn Girl and many others?

Philippa Gregory does write novels about English royalty, but they are not accurate regarding history.

These suggestions will keep me busy all fall and winter! Thanks!

What, no Sherlock Holmes? The settings are quintessential London.

Better yet, search out the old DVD series featuring Jeremy Brett produced in the late 80s. Most likely available at your public library. The acting, interiors, landscapes are magnificent – so Victorian.
Personally, I don’t like those recent productions.

Two of my favorite stories in this collection are: “Scandal in Bohemia” and “The Solitary Cyclist.” Brett was a perfectionist who really had Sherlock down pat.

For something different, here's a whimsical and enchanting book set in the Tower of London:

The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise: A Novel, by Julia Stuart

About Jeremy Brett: the best Sherlock ever. However, the contemporary series on PBS is very, very good.

Underhill, I'm going to have to agree with Latedaytraveler on the subject of the latest 'Sherlock' series. I find Benedict Cumberbatch unbearable as Holmes. But agree with you that Jeremy Brett was the best. I think Robert Downey, Jr., while not as annoying as Cumberbatch, may be laboring under the weight of bad scripts or possibly the weight of being Robert Downey, Jr.

Then there's 'The Seven-Per-Cent Solution' with a great cast, Nicol Williamson, Robert Duvall, Alan Arkin, and Laurence Olivier. That sounds good even if it's bad.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Sherlock_Holmes_films

Underhill and Mme Perdu, I am glad that you agree that Jeremy Brett is the quintessential Holmes.

Also, each episode in the series is based on an individual story. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote some 57 stories. These recent film versions seem to be a mishmash of several tales and threads in the Holmes/Watson narrative.

Of course, some episodes have been somewhat altered for dramatic effect from the original pieces. I love the authentic “rooms” shared by the sleuth and his sidekick on Baker Street, the cabs they so frequently took, the trains they jumped on to reach the lovely countryside where there services are needed such as in “The Speckled Band” and “Copper Beeches.”

My experience with the Jeremy Brett series is the result of teaching literature in Grade 7 – the kids loved to read the stories and then watch these DVDs.

Imagine that C_W_would have had a thing or two to say about this -

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/books/review/lionel-asbo-by-martin-amis.html?pagewanted=all

Katherine Ashe's four-part novelization of the life of Simon de Montfort (available from Amazon) is a meticulously researched and wonderfully writtem look at England in the 13th Century. Ashe really makes history come alive with fully realized characters and thrilling battles of wits and weapons.

I think even CW thought Amis was seriously slipping in recent decade or so. But I very much disliked his early The Rachel Papers that everyone found so charming.

Here are some tube-related suggestions I've just seen mentioned:
http://london-underground.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/penguin-books-tube-150th-anniversary.html

For earlier twentieth-century stuff, you could try getting hold of Arnold Bennett's "Riceyman Steps", Norman Collins's "London Belongs to Me", Patrick Hamilton's "Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky", Elizabeth Bowen's "The Heat of the Day", or a recent novel set in and around the Blitz, Sarah Waters's "The Night Watch".

E.F. Benson's Lucia and Mapp series, if we're in an early 20th C mood.

>>E.F. Benson's Lucia and Mapp series, if we're in an early 20th C mood.<<

Lovely fun, but I think only one of the Lucia books is set in London.

True, Patrick.

I'd still be tempted to walk by Olga's/Benson's house at 25 Brompton Square, when in the neighborhood.

Since I don't see any harm in resuscitating old value-packed threads. Reporting back on Lionel Asbo: I thought it was great.

Also loved Ordinary Thunderstorms, as recommended above by PatrickL.

I have recently read London Belongs to Me and really enjoyed it.

stoke,

Have you read "Restless" by William Boyd? One of my favorites of his although "Ordinary Thunderstorms" very good as well. "Restless" has been made into a two-part drama to be shown over the holidays in the UK, BBC I think but could be ITV.

English Tea Murder by Leslie Meier is a fun quite read!!

My local library had a book sale where I bought books for a dollar a bag!! Bougth several London books!! Im reading "The Queen and Her Court" by Jerrold M Packard right now.

Was written in 80's - Prince Charles has JUST gotten engaged to Lady Diana Spencer!! I am just getting into it but detail family history - room by room of royal residences!!

One question - at Buckingham Palace IS there a side door called Privy Purse Door where people can come in to just sign the guest book??? I know there is a guest book but can't imagine where you can just walk up and come inside and sign a book! IF so please let me know!!

Thank you, Cathinjoetown. I'll look for that.

.

Seeing as you mention historical novels, have you heard of 'Where there's a Will, there's a way'. It's a biographical, fact based account written in novel format of the remarkable life story of British social reformer and working class hero, Will Crooks. It's like something out of a Dickens novel. As a poor boy in London's East End, Crooks was sent the Poplar Workhouse. Usually that is enough to finish most people off, but Crooks grew to become chairman of the very board of Guardians that years earlier had been responsible for sending him to the Workhouse and he sets about reforming and humanising the workhouse system. He was also mainly responsible for killing off baby farming in Victorian London. It's quite an eye opender to conditions in London at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. If you like triumph over adversity stories then this is a fascinating read. It's set in Poplar, the same area where the Call the Midwife books are based: www.amazon.com/Where-theres-remarkable-Crooks-ebook/dp/B0089ZA05I

I know this is an old thread but I don't see CJ Sansom's Shardlake series of historical mystery novels set in the time of Henry VIII http://cjsansombooks.com/matthew-shardlake-series/find-out-more/. Excellent mystery novels set in London!!

"Brick Lane" by Monica Ali is another good one that I read some time ago.
I found that even though they're old now Jean Plaidy's historical novels were a great way to learn a lot of mainly royalty history.

Any list of novels set in London must include Anthony Powell's magnificent twelve novel cycle, "A Dance to the Music of Time", considered by many to be among the finest English novels of the Twentieth Century. The cycle spans the period from just after the Great War until the late 1960's and is filled with a host of memorable characters. While the scene often shifts outside London, the city remains central to these novels. Essential reading!