Did you know that it is still forbidden to run, carry an umbrella, or whistle in Burlington Arcade? That at the southeast corner of Trafalgar Square there's a tiny, working jail cell that looks like a fat lamppost that still has a direct phone link to Scotland Yard? That the entrance to Buckingham Palace that faces down the Mall is actually the back door, not the front? From the quirky to the bizarre, this is a humorous and historical dissection of London's strangest occurrences and locations.
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About the Author
Tom Quinn is the author of 12 books including Angling in Art, Fishing's Strangest Days, Shooting’s Strangest Days, and Wings Over the World: Tales from the Golden Age of Britain's Airlines and the editor of Country Business magazine.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Oddball London History!,
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This review is from: London's Strangest Tales: Extraordinary But True Stories (Strangest series) (Paperback)
I love London! It's my most favorite city on Earth. Walking down a London street, you get a very real sense of walking through history. Tom Quinn has collected some of the more offbeat history connected with "the good old city" in this charming 2008 collection of EXTRAORDINARY BUT TRUE STORIES from Portico Publishing.Within LONDON'S STRANGEST TALES' 378 pages, the reader will find a mix of eccentric characters, charmingly-quaint yet centuries-old odd practices and traditions, head-scratching London architectual oddities and so on. The book is arranged chronologically. The first entry dates from 950 and explains 'Why Part of Scotland is in London.' The last entry, circa 2005, explains why Dutch shipping - and only Dutch shipping - is allowed to land their cargoes without being charged harbor fees. In addition to those items, the reader will get full details on: *Londoners with Short Tempers and/or Extravagant Habits *Secret London Underground Tunnels *The London Origins of "Sixes and Sevens" *Why the Church of St. Mary le Strand is Located in the Middle of a Roadway *London's Elegant but Long-gone Public Lavatories *Why London Women of Fashion Slept with Mouse-traps on their Beds in the Late 1600s *Gropecunt Lane and Other Strange London Street Names *Why America Doesn't Own Its Embassy in London *The Philosopher Who Had Himself Stuffed and Put on Public Display in Perpetuity *London's Only Man-Made River...and many more. All in all, LONDON'S STRANGEST TALES is quirkly, informative and a fun read. Recommended.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
LONDON'S STRANGEST TALES-EXCELLENT!,
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This review is from: London's Strangest Tales: Extraordinary But True Stories (Strangest series) (Paperback)
Just this, you won't want to put this book down. It is a very fun read and full of strange and unusual customs.
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