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/Categor...k_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/bo...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.c...niversary.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.