A.. N. Wilson's London
A. N. Wilson's London: A History (Modern Library Chronicle Books, 2004) is an attractive little volume, packaged with a dreamy image of Big Ben, that promises pleasant reading. A history of London in fewer than two hundred small pages! And by A. N. Wilson, too! Now, Mr Wilson is a very subtle, very probing English writer whose books on Jesus, St Paul, and God's Funeral manage to be extremely interesting without ever quite disclosing the author's personal convictions. His novels, which often feature a parsonage, or manse, make for very good reading, although I must confess that it has been a while since I've read one. His big book of shortish chapters on the Victorians has been favorably addressed elsewhere.
The London book, it turns out, is really about Mr Wilson himself. Which is as it should be. How could a great city's past, from the Romans to Ken Livingstone, fit honorably in so short a space? Better that it should serve as a stimulus for Mr Wilson's very dry wit.
Continue reading about London on Portico.
