The best books about London’s dark history
From the Black Death to body snatchers, author Lizzie Pook recommends vivid novels which bring the capital’s grisly past to life.
For centuries, London has provided rich fodder for writers. The capital has seen it all: wars, serial killers, plagues and natural disasters, its streets thrumming with stories of crime and corruption, from the poorest slums to the grandest palaces.
And there’s nothing more intoxicating than novels that explore the darkest parts of London’s history – tales of the grim and the grotesque, the shocking and the sublime. Stories that are all the more staggering because they have their basis in truth. Whether it’s London’s love affair with public executions, the grim secrets lurking beneath the surface of the mighty River Thames, or its crumbling tenements teeming with cutpurses and drunks, there’s no better way to immerse ourselves in the stink and the squalor than by turning the pages of a book.
The following selection should come with a warning: may cause swooning, sweating and sleeplessness. Because you’ll feel as if you’ve been transported back to the dangerous, dynamic darkness of London with these evocative reads.
For more inspiration, take a look at our list of the best historical fiction books of all time.