London (novel)

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London
Rutherfurd London first ed.jpg
First edition cover
Author Edward Rutherfurd
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre Historical novel
Publisher Century Hutchinson
Publication date
May 1997
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages829 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN 978-0-7126-5419-7 (first edition, hardback)
OCLC 36915944

London is a historical novel by Edward Rutherfurd published in 1997, which charts the history of London from 54 B.C. to 1997. The novel begins with the birth of the River Thames and moves to 54 B.C., detailing the life of Segovax, a curious character with slightly webbed hands and a flash of white hair. Segovax becomes the ancestor of the Ducket and Dogget families, prominent fictional families woven into the novel.

Contents

Historical figures, such as Julius Caesar, Geoffrey Chaucer, Henry VIII, William Shakespeare, and Pocahontas, make appearances alongside fictional characters and historical kings and queens of England.

Reception

"[W]ide range of characters that the readers will either love or hate... all manner of people with all kinds of backgrounds... Rutherfurd is adept at showing how all classes throughout history, from slaves to kings, have contributed to London's development". [1]

Also the Virginia Pilot said of the novel:

"With confidence and skill, Rutherfurd has separated those layers and produced a remarkable story of a great city. Once or twice the social, political and economic factors overshadow the fictional families, but that is almost inevitable when even the best fiction comes up against such an impressive spectrum of historical fact.". [2]

Publication details

Footnotes

  1. Johnson, Karyn. "Book Review - London The Novel by Edward Rutherfurd". BellaOnline. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
  2. Spigel, Barbara. "``London`` A Remarkable Tale of a Great City". University Libraries, Virginia Tech. Retrieved 21 February 2008.

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