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Jen Pedler talks about Shepherd Market Today Shepherd Market, just off Piccadilly, is a hidden oasis of pubs, restaurants and up-market shops. In the 1920s it was far less salubrious; a haunt of prostitutes and also home to writers such as Michael Arlen and Anthony Powell who both encapsulated the world of 1920s Mayfair…
Read moreJen Pedler asks where exactly is one of London’s most famous addresses The enigmatic 221b 221b Baker Street must be one of the most famous addresses in the world. It is, of course, fictional but that hasn’t prevented generations of Sherlock Holmes fans from trying to track it down. The blue plaque on the wall…
Read moreHazel Baker explains why Oliver Twist is very far from being a children’s story Many of Dickens’ contemporary critics and reading public feared that novels could be too realistic, and that naïve readers (often female readers) wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between fiction and reality. Especially for a novel like Oliver Twist, which…
Read moreWe have four different walks and a talk featuring Virginia Woolf in the Footprints Literary festival in October, so plenty of opportunity to hear about her life and works. But perhaps one of the oddest stories associated with Virginia Woolf relates to her part in a 1910 hoax perpetrated on the Royal Navy in February…
Read moreFootprints of London Guides Richard Watkins and Steve Pratt talk about their forthcoming new walk about The Great Fire of Westminster One of the paintings featured in the Tate Britain’s current exhibition, “Late Turner: Painting Set Free ”, is The Burning of the House of Lords and Commons 16 October 1834, amongst others on the…
Read moreCharles Lamb, the famous Essayist and Author was born on 10th February 1775 in Crown Office Row in the Inner Temple (his father was a clerk). Charles Lamb is associated with many locations in London. Not only was he born in the Temple, but he went to Christ’s Hospital – the famous City of London…
Read moreSome exciting news from Mark Rowland about a new film project that Footprints of London is helping with. Since I became chairman of Footprints of London earlier this year a number of propositions for partnerships have crossed my inbox and Twitter account. I was contacted towards the back end of last week by a chap called Alex…
Read moreLiterary Footprints got off to a fine start yesterday with two excellent events. Sue Bingham led the walk Embankment to Covent Garden – Literary Heroes Sue told some excellent Sherlock Holmes stories introducing us to Arthur Conan Doyle’s hybrid London of fictional and real locations. Within a few minutes she introduced the group to a…
Read moreNew Footprints of London guide Hazel shares themes in her ‘Follow the Footsteps of Oliver Twist’ walk. Charles Dickens was the quintessential Victorian author. His epic stories, vivid characters and deeply descriptive depiction of contemporary life are unforgettable. In his second major work, Oliver Twist, he highlights a number of social issues including the…
Read moreNew Footprints of London guide Sheldon Goodman previews his forthcoming tour of Brompton Cemetery ‘A Cemetery tour? Good grief, that’s a bit morbid isn’t it?’ ‘I can’t stand Cemeteries. They’re too creepy. They’re all depressing and horrible!’ For the longest time, Cemeteries have suffered from an image crisis that seems peculiarly confined to the UK…
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