London Perceived
by V. S. Pritchett
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"Here is a distillation of the London experience - a panorama of its history, art, literature, and daily life. Here is the city that Londoners know, a paradox of grandeur and grime, the locus of bustling markets and tranquil parks, of the ancient and modern, of palaces and pubs, of docks and railroad depots. Great Londoners of the past stalk these pages - Wren, Pepys, Defoe, Hogarth, Dickens, and of course, that consummate Londoner, Samuel Johnson, who said, "No, Sir, when a man is tired of show more London, he is tired of life, for there is in London all that life can afford." And here, too, are the faces of the people inhabiting London today - milkmen and master mariners, dockers and shopkeepers, messengers, Chelsea pensioners, and, inevitably, the London bobby. There is, as well, an analysis of the Londoner himself, enigmatic and enduring, with his remote but insistent respect for law, royalty, and ritual, his affection for argument, his toleration of eccentrics. This new paperback of the original 1962 edition offers a loving tribute to a great city's past and present."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved show lessTags
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Pritchett's impressionistic rambles through London offer the reader a snapshot of a city on the cusp of becoming the place we know today. In his early-60s milieu, the Docklands were still working docks not high-priced condos, Teddy Boys were about to be MODernized, and some of the rubble of the Second World War still stood, slowly being replaced by featureless International Modern concrete blocks. Some of his observations still hold true, just as VSP found echoing vestiges of Dickensian (and older) London in the city of 1962. Some are hopelessly outmoded, ways of life and places gone forever.
The writing was poetic and rather beautiful but also odd and strangely rambling, often with no clear connections between thoughts. Three stars for show more the writing, five for the excellent and haunting photographs by Evelyn Hofer, rendered in high-contrast quality in the 2002 Godine reprint. Worthwhile for the London enthusiast, photography fancier, cultural historian, or nostalgia buff. show less
The writing was poetic and rather beautiful but also odd and strangely rambling, often with no clear connections between thoughts. Three stars for show more the writing, five for the excellent and haunting photographs by Evelyn Hofer, rendered in high-contrast quality in the 2002 Godine reprint. Worthwhile for the London enthusiast, photography fancier, cultural historian, or nostalgia buff. show less
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81+ Works 3,101 Members
Born in Ipswich and educated at Alleyn's School, Dulwich, and Dulwich College, novelist and critic V. S. Pritchett worked in the leather trade and later as a commercial traveler and shop assistant. After World War II, he was literary editor of the New Statesman and Nation and has frequently contributed to American periodicals and the N.Y. Times show more Book Review. He is a distinguished short story writer who has often appeared in the New Yorker. Pritchett has also collaborated with the photographer Evelyn Hofer on three charming and excellent portraits of London, New York, and Dublin. Pritchett, who has been lauded for his fine literary criticism, has also written about many other writers. He received numerous awards including the 1969 Heinemann Award, the 1974 PEN Award, the 1990 W. H. Smith Literary Award, and the 1993 Golden Pen Award. He died from a stroke on March 20, 1997. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
All Editions
Awards and Honors
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Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1962
- Important places
- London, England, UK
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 188
- Popularity
- 173,112
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.71)
- Languages
- English, French
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 12
- ASINs
- 3
