Writing London

If you have spent any time in a London café, you will know this to be a city of writers — all of them aspiring, some accomplished and a scant few successful. This guide documents the work and the working habits of the latter group — sites of triumph, shame and tragedy — and significant locations in their writing.

Casting our net over the metropolis and across the centuries, we have George Orwell and H.G. Wells falling out over curry and plum cake in NW8, Julian Barnes at the National Gallery, J.G. Ballard in Docklands, Alan Bennett's harsh but accurate summary of Camden Town's distinctive aroma, and James Boswell’s enthusiastic womanising.

London is a city full of stories and the people who make them; we hope this guide brings a few to life.