Synopses & Reviews
London is one of the worlds great citiesa source of inspiration to generations of poets, novelists, journalists, and commentators who have visited or called it home. Be it praise or colorful invective, everyone, it seems, has something to say about the city and this slender volumefilled with wise, witty, and sometimes scandalous quotespresents the full range of impressions it has made.
When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” Samuel Johnson spoke highly of London in Boswells famous biography, but not all have shared his enthusiasm. Since, the capital has been characterized as a riddle,” a cesspool,” and a modern Babylon”the last by none other than Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. No tribute to the city would be complete without reference to the notoriously inclement weather, which caused Jane Austen to complain that, in London it is always a sickly season.”
For fans, foes, and those planning a trip to the city in the hopes of forming an opinion, this collection will be welcomed.
Synopsis
When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford, wrote Samuel Johnson in 1777. Since then the capital has been characterised variously as a riddle, a cesspool and a modern Babylon, and both Londoners and visitors alike have continued to share their candid views of a great city in a variety of literary forms.
Since its humble beginnings as a ford for oxen across the river Thames in the tenth century, Oxford has been an inspiration to generations of writers and thinkers, who have admired its dreaming spires (Matthew Arnold), or warned that it is the most dangerous place to which a young man can be sent (Anthony Trollope).
These compact gift books are packed full of witty, scandalous and entertaining quotations about these two famous cities from the Middle Ages to the current decade.
About the Author
Jaqueline Mitchell is a freelance writer and editor and compiler of Blitz Spirit. Violet Moller is a freelance writer and researcher and coauthor, with Clive Hurst, of The Curious World of Dickens, also published by the Bodleian Library.
Table of Contents
Imprint
Quotations
Credits