I began this book several weeks before our London vacation. I was intrigued after reading the book's subheading, "A Tour of the World's Greatest Fictional City". For those who know me, my love for British fiction, alongwith TV/motion picture productions based on British fiction, is not a secret. While I enjoy modern British fiction and productions, "period peices" enthrall me as I relish losing myself in time and place. The place is London- graced with its elegant historical buildiings, lush gardens and upper society's glamour, while the time periods typically include the Victorian and Geogian eras.
While I have read several of Anna Quindlan's novels and found them to be pleasant reads, I knew I encountered a kindred spirit when I read one of the lines in "Imagined London": "...the places I most feel at home are bookstores and libraries. And London." I definitely agree with feeling very much at home, surrounded by books in libraries and bookstores. While I visited London briefly as a teenager, seeing all the chief tourist sights, I do not recall feeling at home in London; however, since then my anglophile passions have multiplied and I antiicipate feeling at home in London during our upcoming trip.
Anna Quindlan's account of London persuaded that the possiblity of feeling home in London is very likely.
"For a person raised on books (such as I), walking through streets in her mind's eyes, engaged in love affairs and life losses of imaginary men and women, London is indisputably the capital of literature, of great literature and romance novels and mystery novels, too." While I am not a fan of Charles Dickens, London's most revered literary export (I find his novels dark and depressing, focusing on human nature's sinister elements), I revere many other British authors and have savoured countless PBS "Masterpiece Theater" productions, whose characters' lives have unfolded in London.
Anna Quindlan describes a London where modern-day vibrancy meets historical tranquility and charm. She compares London with her hometown New York, another world-renowned city that artfully blends the past with the present. " It is as though four different landscapes, histories, ways of living, can be encapulated in a walk aroun the corner...one moment, the throng and the lowering office building. The next, quiet isolation, and the window eyes of a mews house. London has nearly as many residents as New York has, yet even its most central locations never feel overwhelming in the way much of Manhattan does, mainly because of this effect, the ability to step within minutes from tumult into peace. "
Anna Quinlan highlights well-known and relatively obscure places to visit in London. From verdant parks, revealing that "A third of London is grass or gardens",shopping districts: " Up on Piccadilly, the shopping arcades are as Victorian as anyone could want...The one between Albermarle and Bond Streets is particularly atmospheric, with its enormous bay windows and gilded signs. Queen Victoria bought her riding hapbbits ino one of the shops and feels as if the servant sent on the task had only lately left." and historical monuments such as the Albert Memorial, heightening my anticipation to reaquaint myself with London. While we may not have the opportunity or the inclination to visit all the places she visited, I hope to share her captivation and delight for London.
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