In Search of London [Paperback]

H. V. Morton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2006

"Here H.V.Morton begins his wandering in the City, where Roman London began, and follows, westwards, the course of London's seventeenth and eighteenth-century expansion. He describes the London he has himself known, from the rich and arrogant city of his youth to the battered and shabby London of today. He gives vivid pictures of great Londoners of the past. He takes the reader with him about the famous streets and squares and buildings with an infallible eye for the odd, entertaining and interesting things to be found in the great city. In all, there are few aspects of London he does not touch upon. Here is a lasting memento for the overseas visitor, for Londoners in their thousands, and for all those readers for whom Mr. Morton has long been the perfect guide and the most entertaining companion." Contents Include: I Go in Search of London In Which I Go to the Tower of London I Go to London Bridge in the Early Morning Describes St. Paul's Cathedral and the Great Man Sir Christopher Wren, Who Built it A Walk Along the Strand from Temple Bar to Charing Cross I Turn on the Fountains in Trafalgar Square In Which I Go to Westminster Abbey I Visit the Houses of Parliament and See the New House of Commons I Go to St. James's Palace and Remember the Day When it Was a Refuge for Female Lepers How Piccadilly Became the Heart of the West End I See Regent's Park Visit the Zoo and Madame Tussaud's A Few Words About the Treasure Houses of South Kensington

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Henry Vollam Morton was born in 1892 near Manchester, England. He became an international celebrity by scooping the world's press in the sensational discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb in the early 1920s. His newfound fame subsequently led to a series of extraordinarily popular vignettes on English city and country life, which went on to sell millions of copies worldwide. He died in South Africa in 1979 at the age of eighty-six.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 484 pages
• Publisher: Hesperides Press (July 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1406796646
• ISBN-13: 978-1406796643
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,098,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Writing as Timeless as London Itself, August 6, 2003

By 

P. Martin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Search of London (Paperback)

While much of London is very different today than it was when this book was written around 1950, much more of London is timeless, as H.V. Morton most engagingly demonstrates in "In Search of London."

If I had not been reading this book during a recent visit to London, I am sure that I would never have visited the Temple, which is a cluster of buildings tucked away just off Fleet Street with historic significance dating back to the twelfth century. "No place in London has a more romantic origin than the Temple. The name commemorates the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, and came to Thames-side with the crusading Order of the Knights Templar in the 12th Century," Morton writes. The Temple Church is a must-see (my commentary, not Morton's). Even though much of it was badly damaged during World War II in the Blitz, the medieval part with authentic gothic gargoyles inside the church at eye-level (very unusual and what a treat!) were not affected and the rest of the church has been restored.

Here's some of what he has to say about the aftermath of the blitz: "Milk Street is a little lane which used to lead to one of the most crowded portions of the City of London... When I reached the end of Milk Street, I looked out toward Moorfield across an area of devastation so final and complete that the memory of it will always rise in my mind whenever I hear the word Blitz. There are other parts of London as badly ravaged, but this to me will always be the most horrific. Thousands of buildings have been burned and blasted to the cellars..." He then writes almost poetically of the grass, flowers and trees that had taken over the ruins, ending with an amusing exchange with the local postman.

Among his (and our) many other adventures, he visits and/or discourses on the Tower of London, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum ("One of the earliest memories I have of London as a small boy is that of the wax figures in Madame Tussaud's exibition."), the execution of Charles I in 1649 ("In the long record of English tragedy and fortitude there is no nobler death than that of King Charles I."), and Hyde Park: "...So Hyde Park belonged to the monks of Westminster for nearly four and a half centuries. The abbots had a pleasure house there. The monks fished, no doubt, on the banks of many streams, like the Westbourne, which flowed from Hampstead and traversing Hyde Park, found their way into the Thames. When Henry VIII decided to make this his great hunting ground, he persuaded the monks to exchange the Manor of Hyde for the dissolved priory of Hurley in Berkshire..."

As I said in my review of "In Search of England", the first of his many travel books which was written in the late 1920's, H.V. Morton is a great writer. His style is simple, sincere and insightful. He loves what he's writing about and is able to share his experiences so they come alive for his readers. What a gift.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Toss out a guidebook to make room for this, April 15, 2007

By 

Andrew S. Rogers (Stamford, Connecticut) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Search of London (Paperback)

One difference between tourist guides and travel literature might be that the guidebooks are good references while you're on the road, whereas travel literature can get you in the travel mood, help you remember where you've been, or be a vicarious substitute for actually leaving home. What makes "In Search of London" such a great book -- and why it remains in print more than 50 years after its first publication -- is that it transcends most other books of travel essays I've read and is also a book that I could easily see myself carrying with me on the streets of London, pausing in St. Paul's or along the Embankment to re-read a section of Morton's great prose.

I was able to visit London last spring, and while I was there was very aware of the history that surrounded me. Henry Morton's prose has that sense too, but to an infinitely more developed degree. Reading this, you get the feeling Morton can almost see the specters of Roman soldiers, Elizabethan yeomen, striding Cavaliers or bustling Edwardians filling the pavements around him. Whether he goes up in the Monument or down under Trafalgar Square, Morton seems to be occupying several periods in history simultaneously. It's a very difficult feat for a writer to pull off -- and harder still for one to do it without giving the sense one is a historical exhibitionist, dropping names and dates just to prove one can.

I'm not sure how exactly I stumbled upon H.V. Morton's name and writings, but I am very glad I have. "In Search of London" has given me, I think, one of my new favorite writers as well as a wonderful look at one of my very favorite cities. I'm now well into "In the Steps of the Master," Morton's 1934 chronicle of his visit to the Holy Land, and I can see that "In Search of London" wasn't a fluke: Morton really is that good a writer, a storyteller, and a man who really knows his history.

Keep in mind that "In Search of London" was published in 1951, and so there are many mentions of bomb damage and other relics of the late war. It will take a little of the reader's imagination to carry the narrative, and the sense of place, forward to 2007 and beyond. But any reader who dives into Morton's work and lets his narrative carry you along as I did shouldn't have too much trouble doing that. Even today, this is still an excellent guide to what makes London what it is, and certainly worth making room for it in your suitcase, as well as on your bookshelf.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars H.V. Morton was a special author, May 29, 2006

By 

Sammy Madison (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Search of London (Paperback)

I don't know a lot about H.V. Morton, but from his writings, he had to be an amazing man. Although the books I have read by him were written fifty years ago or even more, his personality just shines through in his writing. He travelled all over the world, and happened to be on hand for the discovery of King Tut's tomb. He wrote really fascinting books on his travels in Italy, Spain, and England. In a way Morton reminds me of Kennith Clark, the historian who saved all the cultural treasures during WWII. He was so well-travelled, cultured, and intelligent, and had such a gift for describing people and places. His books on the cities of Rome and London are especially wonderful. Morton obviously loved imagining the history of the ancient cities. "In Search of London" is so interesting because in one sentence he writes about his personal recollections of the blitz, then he's going on about the Roman occupation of London. If you liked Edward Rutherford's books about England you will get a thrill reading H.V. Morton's books.