London: The Novel

By Edward Rutherfurd

“A TOUR DE FORCE . . . London tracks the history of the English capital from the days of the Celts until the present time. . . . Breathtaking.”—The Orlando Sentinel

A master of epic historical fiction, Edward Rutherford gives us a sweeping novel of London, a glorious pageant spanning two thousand years. He brings this vibrant city's long and noble history alive through his saga of ever-shifting fortunes, fates, and intrigues of a half-dozen families, from the age of Julius Caesar to the twentieth century. Generation after generation, these families embody the passion, struggle, wealth, and verve of the greatest city in the Old World.

Praise for London

“Remarkable . . . The invasion by Julius Caesar’s legions in 54 B.C. . . . The rise of chivalry and the Crusades . . . The building of the Globe theatre . . . and the coming of the Industrial Revolution. . . . What a delightful way to get the feel of London and of English history. . . . We witness first-hand the lust of Henry VIII. We overhear Geoffrey Chaucer deciding to write The Canterbury Tales. . . . Each episode is a punchy tale made up of bite-size chunks ending in tiny cliffhangers.”—The New York Times

“Hold-your-breath suspense, buccaneering adventure, and passionate tales of love and war.”—The Times (London)

“Fascinating . . . A sprawling epic.”—San Francisco Chronicle

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 7, 2011
• ISBN: 9780307806024

Edward Rutherfurd

Edward Rutherfurd nació en Salisbury, Inglaterra. Se diplomó en historia y literatura por Cambridge. Es el autor de Sarum, El bosque, Londres, París, Nueva York, Rusia, Rebeldes de Irlanda, Príncipes de Irlanda y China. En todas sus novelas Rutherfurd nos ofrece una rica panorámica de las ciudades más atractivas del mundo a través de personajes ficticios y reales que se ponen al servicio de una investigación minuciosa en lo que ya se ha convertido el sello particular de autor.

Reviews for London

[aapjebaapje · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent as usual.

[jennannej_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I appreciated the fictional look at the history of London. However, reading this book was a bit confusing and frustrating. Basically, I would get immersed in the story the author was telling and then he would suddenly switch time periods and I would have to learn all new characters, plus try to relate them to their ancestors. It got a bit confusing.

[bksallover · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

HATED TO SEE IT END

[jefware · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

From prehistoric celts to modern-day archeologist, in some way, we are all Londoners.

[hardlyhardy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There are historical novels and then there is history told in the form of novels. One kind uses history to tell stories. The other uses stories to tell history. Edward Rutherfurd's "London" (1997) is a good example of the latter type. He attempts to cover the entire history of the city, from before the Romans arrived to the present day, through the lives of a few families. These families may be fictional, but they brush shoulders with historical figures such as Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare and they become involved in such major events in English history as the Norman conquest, the Black Death, the Great Fire, the building of St. Paul's Cathedral, the Crystal Palace and the Blitz. The author places momentous events and important personages in the context of ordinary people whose lives they impacted.Because the novel covers more than 2,000 years, it necessarily becomes a series of related short stories, some better than others but all worth reading as much for the history they relate as for the stories themselves. Some characters hang around for two or three chapters, but eventually they are replaced, as in real life, by children and grandchildren who pick up the story. Rutherfurd's characters cover London society from the titled class to the servant class, sometimes within the same family. Family trees at the beginning of the book help the reader keep straight who is related to whom.Both the novel's first and last chapters have the same title, "The River." The Thames is London's one constant, the only thing that has been there since the beginning and will continue long after the final page.

[altheaann · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A really good book - I expected it to be boring... it's quite a huge tome of history, but it really read well, and was informational too!

[ladyars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Premissa interessantíssima, literalmente um épico sobre uma cidade. Mistura história com ficção de uma maneira equilibrada.

[chris4graham_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A wonderfully detailed look into the lives and times of a variety of people, with different stations in life's lottery, spanning almost 2000 years.

[cynrwiecko · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I eventually gave up on this book. The chapters quickly became repetitive and boring.

[rowansw · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

AP World HistoryThis book, by Edward Rutherfurd, was basically about the change in London over the years.In the beginning, he describes the small mass of land that we now know is Great Britain, and how it was still below the sea 54 B.C.E. As the book goes on, he depicts the first humans in London, and even farther into the book he discusses different innovations in different areas in London. These innovations include the railroad.What's neat about this book is that the way he tells the tale of London over the years is by creating fictional families in certain time periods. He makes the tale of London an actual story. It's very well written, but the pace is very slow moving and there are details that are just drawn out until you just sort of want to fall asleep. Overall, it's a great story idea, but a bit boring.

[anntstobbs · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a very good but very long book. I traces the history of the town of London from the early 500 a.d. until 1995. It traces the history of the Doggett, Bull and Silversleeves families. Every different chapter is an entirely new book with new characters and new stories with only the traces of family history and the London tow changes to bundle them together. I loved it.

[lornay_9 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked it and I didn't expect to. I wasn't a fan of Sarum when it first came out. Now I will have to re-read Sarum based on my enjoyment of London. The characters in London are believable and face real conflicts. I also like the etymological angle where place names are explained.

[miked_181283 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Like Michner, Rutherford knows how to give a history lesson in a novel... and does it very well here! We start in 54 AD on the river Thames following a family whose father has a couple unique physical characteristics and follow this family thru many generations culminating in 1997 AD. During this adventure we learn much about the history of London and meet many historical characters who interact with this family. Richard the Lion Hearted, Becket, Oliver Cromwell, Henry VIII, Will Shakespere, and many more. A long read at almost 1200 pages, but well worth it!

[gregory_gwen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Quite a long one... but London's been around for a long time! I liked the way the story followed families through the history of the city, all they way from Roman times to the present. I didn't really care for the ending in 1997 - it seemed a bit anticlimactic - but I guess it's hard to end such a monumental work.

[ltfl_jmls · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Quite a long one... but London's been around for a long time! I liked the way the story followed families through the history of the city, all they way from Roman times to the present. I didn't really care for the ending in 1997 - it seemed a bit anticlimactic - but I guess it's hard to end such a monumental work.

[nicky_too_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Years ago I bought 'Sarum' which I enjoyed very much. When I heard that there were quite a few other books by Edward Rutherfurd I wanted to read them as well. It took me a few weeks, but I've just finished 'London'.It's quite a lot of pages - almost 1,300.But it's worth it.The concept is the same as in 'Sarum'. The main character in the book is basically the town/city and the people provide a way to tell the story. There are a few main families and through them you get to know the place where they live.I think it's wonderful to read about people who actually existed. The people Edward Rutherfurd made up fit in perfectly. And of course, if you've ever been to London, there's a lot of recognition. I have to say that in this case I got lost sometimes. Thankfully each chapter can be read on its own. If anything from the families' past is important the author refers to it.I would definitely recommend this book to other readers.

[bokai_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I don't usually associate 800+ pages with the term 'beach read', but that is what London turned out to be, a very long beach read. As entertaining as it was, it was shallow, and Rutherfurd did not meet the challenge of writing a single piece of fiction that encompassed all of human history with complete success. It was somewhat entertaining to see the multiple family lines London follows mingle, split, and warp through the ages, and up until the chapter The Tower, the novelty of London's concept was still fresh. There were some moments of real suspense at times, and once or twice a character would stand out from the multitudes of his or her kin, but soon the plot of each chapter was feeling tedious, and the characters were all melding into each other, with only the context of their era giving them strong distinction.For the most part, each chapter in London is a sub story separate from the others by some great rift in time or made distinct by some important event in London's history. While many chapters can stand alone in this way, there are a few that seem to lack any sort of closure, and by the next chapter Rutherfurd has moved on to something else so that I was left asking 'wait, that's it?'. Some chapters, particularly near the end, seems to be short slice of life moments that catch up on a few stray threads and leave it at that. Like any healthy family tree, the population of characters in London balloons out and becomes so unwieldy that there doesn't seem to be any focus by the end. There is some illustration of how people have changed with the times (which I grant was one of the most interesting parts of the book), but the reader is given no time to familiarize himself with the setting before he is whisked away to the next decade. At its worst London feel like an endless parade of introductions for this reason.It is its prose that screams beach read the loudest. It is firmly decent and unobtrusive. It is a rare occasion that a line is worth reading for its own sake, and there were bits I would have edited the heck out of myself, but it was all easily digestible in the end. There is nothing challenging in here, nor is there anything offensive. London is about as OK a novel as I will ever read.

[dharma05_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this book. I have read it 3 times. I borrowed it from a friend, when having surgery and a lot of time off of work. I have now purchased my own copy and am reading it again! After my first reading,I went to London shortly after on a holiday, but I want to go again and look at more places, incorporating my family history research. I know it is ficitional in characters, but I can never put it down. It makes me feel as if I am there. Living in Australia as I do, and loving English history, this book fascinates me, and is the best ever I have read about the evolution of London. There are many better more accurate historical books, but this is my favourite. I have now bought New York, and also a 2nd hand copy of The Forest, niether of which I can get into, although I did find this about London, for the 1st quarter of the book. I want all of Rutherfurd's books eventually. I hope my brand new copy gets as dogged eared as my friend's as it means to me it is loved. I have never read a book 3 times in 3 years, and I am an ex library technician.!!!!

[missreadstoomuch · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I did enjoy the beginning of this book but found it became a little repetitive as time went on - same family, same family dynamics, just with different historical events going on outside. I wish he would have followed the history of more than one family through the entire book. I did read the whole thing and always admire Rutherford's writing style but was disappointed with one tiny aspect of the ending that I won't go into right now, but I would like to run into someone else who has finished the book so I can ask why they think the author chose to close one plot lone the way he did.

[boomchick_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this before going to London and have also recommended it to many people. I love Rutherfurd, he's great. He does use the word "estuary" kind of a lot!

[sarapoole_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I’ve been a fan of Rutherfurd’s since reading his debut novel, “Sarum”. “London” remains my favorite, possibly because of my great fondness for that city but also because of the bang-up job Rutherfurd does bringing it to life. He starts at the beginning—the end of the last Ice Age—and goes full-tilt from there on. Following the fortunes of six families, the story winds through the Roman occupation to the days of Chaucer, the Globe Theatre, Dickens, and beyond. The pace is fast, characters come and go a little quickly, but overall this is a satisfying read that will sweep you away into the heart and soul of a fascinating city.

[santhony_35 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Typical Rutherfurd historical fiction, with London as the subject. Very similar in style to much of Michener's work.

[literarytiger · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had started this book several years ago, got halfway through and then put it down. I picked it up again for the flight back to Australia, thinking that 1300 pages would probably keep me going and I am pleased to say it did. It is perfect airline reading - not too challenging, but still compelling so you want to keep going.The difficulty with this type of book (which, I believe Edward Rutherford excels at) is that no story or character is ever really examined in depth - except one. London. London is the true hero of this book and all of the other people, personalities and families are merely bystanders. They provide colour and interest, enhancing the history and development of the city over the ages. Rutherford never lets a story stop abruptly - there is always some kind of closure for characters, even if the next section is set 200 years after, but you learn very quickly to let go of characters so you can move on.Probably the biggest lessons I learnt from this book - which were things I already knew? How divisive and destructive religion has been over the years, how fortunes rise and fall, how short life is, and how minute that life is in the context of surrounding history. It was a fascinating read.

[rampaginglibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am both an anglofile and a lover of Michener--so this was the perfect book which i devoured until i hit the end and somehow i dropped off at the great fire~i can't remember why because it wasn't boredom, but i don't remember ever finishing it. I'll have to revisit this one someday...If you are a fan of sweeping historical novels of places more than (say romances or things of that nature) this is for you...

[ddonahue_15 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent narrative lending structure to the dates and names of English history. Must read again before visiting London

[pensivecat · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Rutherfurd follows families living in London from the Roman invasion until the Blitz, as their fortunes rise and fall. The Plague, the sacking of Savoy Palace, Elizabethan playrights, all are covered in this saga. Through this novel you will gain a well-rounded lesson of London's history.

[marcleroux84 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

London is one of my favorite cities, and reading London was a joy. The book is long; spawning the time from pre-Roman times to post WW2. Well written, with ties into his other books, the story is engaging and contains a tremendous amount of 'trivia', ranging from the origin of words, to some of the architectural features of London.

[mendoza_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am continually amazed at the massive undertaking this type of novel presents to an author. And Rutherford has done it numerous times!I emjoy London the best of his works so far. Spanning 2,000 years of the city's history, the novel follows the story of a number of families. There's no particular plot to this novel, only a series of short vignettes from each major era of London's history. It can be difficult to follow at times - but worth the effort in the end.

[littlebookworm_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the best of Edward Rutherfurd's sweeping sagas that I have read so far. He provides a splendid continuity in this one and a much deeper sense of the location he evokes - I'm not sure why it's different because I can't pinpoint the differences, but it just is. This book is wonderful, each little vignette connected to the last, marching forward through the inevitable progress of time. I loved it. I only gave it four stars, though, because Rutherfurd has a technique that I don't like very much. He constantly uses obvious cliffhangers, such as "She knew what she had to do" and leaves it at that for several pages. The device becomes monotonous quickly. Regardless, this magnificent saga provides a sweeping historical sense of London and its people, and comes highly recommended by me.

[campat53 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Overlapping the story of Sarum in some spots, you get characters you're familiar with, occasionally. Again, I've read this several times and never tire of it.