Last updated on May 27th, 2021Nancy Mitford was born in London and spent many years in the capital, writing her bestseller The Pursuit of Love here. In advance of the much-anticipated release of the BBC series, let’s discover Nancy Mitford’s London and see she was born and where she lived, partied and romanced. Nancy Mitford…
Dead Famous Londoners: A. A. Milne in London
Last updated on May 27th, 2021Alan Alexander Milne, or A. A. Milne as he is known, is a household name today, thanks to a silly old humming bear and his furry friends, but he was also a successful novelist, screenwriter, humourist and playwright. Born and bred in London, Milne spent the bulk of his creative…
15 reasons to visit Bankside
Last updated on September 22nd, 2022Bankside was once a cacophonous pleasure zone with brothels, bear-baiting, gaming dens and four Tudor theatres: The Globe, The Rose, the Swan and the Hope. Shakespeare and Dickens lived here. Samuel Pepys watched the Great Fire light up the London sky from here in 1666. So, if you’re visiting London,…
Best Bookshop Cafes in London
Last updated on March 12th, 2021Is there anything better than a good book and a slice of cake? I think not. London has some enchanting bookshops where you can practically curl up with your favourite tome and tuck into a delicious slice and a cuppa. Here are 12 of the best bookshop cafes in London….
Strawberry Hill: Walpole’s Lost Treasures come home
Last updated on April 23rd, 2021How on earth do you track 150 paintings, sculptures, furniture and curiosities which were dispersed 176 years ago after the great “sale of the century?” You hire art super-sleuth Silvia Davoli, that’s how. And you know Horace Walpole would be tickled pink (or probably red, a colour he used lavishly…
Covent Garden in a day
Last updated on August 17th, 2020Covent Garden is London’s living theatre, a canvas of the city’s enchanting past and its immersive present. It was once Nell Gwynn’s playground with her King, and home to the oldest theatre in London with its 500 ghosts of theatre past. Eliza Doolittle sold flowers to Mr Henry Higgins outside…
11 children’s books set in London
Last updated on April 21st, 2020As a young Parisienne, I would dream of floating across the Channel to London’s rooftops in the company of a sooty Bert and his Mary Poppins. Pan and Tinker Bell would whisk me over to Big Ben in the blink of a sleepy eye, and for breakfast, I would make…
A London Literary tour for Kids
Last updated on May 15th, 2022It’s time to hop into your winged slippers and take a trip round a magical London – one where childhood dreams never end. These London tales tell of a honey-loving bear from Harrods, an eccentric detective, boys with magic powers, giants and a Gothic vampire. So, without further ado, let’s…
How to be a Dandy in London
Last updated on May 15th, 2022The British Dandy is still alive and well, and if you look closely, you’ll see them dotted all around London, especially during the Summer Season. A male friend of mine took me on a “man about town” weekend together with some other beaus and Berties who work for her Majesty’s…