In Search of London

by H.V. Morton

Book Overview

H. V. Morton turns his traveler's intuition and his reporter's eye for detail to the city that has fascinated him since childhood -- London past, present, and timeless. He explores the City and the Temple, Covent Garden, SoHo, and all the "submerged villages beneath the flood of bricks and mortar," uncovering layer upon layer of London's history. Morton follows the thread of imagination back and forth across the city, tracing unforgettable scenes:...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0306811324
• ISBN13: 9780306811326
• Release Date: December 2002
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Toss out a guidebook to make room for this

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.

H.V. Morton was a special author

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.

Stroll through London with Mr. Morton

This wonderful book is so much more than a mere travel guide. It's an elegant "travelogue," with Mr. Morton gently leading readers by the hand through the city he clearly loves. As we walk with him, we learn about and experience everything from the city's history and form of government to what it's like to ride a red omnibus or to visit a London church on a Sunday morning. Morton wrote "In Search of London" in 1951 and his description of a city still largely in ruins from the Blitz is almost enough to move you to tears. [...] [...] [...] Mr. Morton wrote "In Search of London" when the memory of the Blitz was still fresh and a reasonable man counted on Christianity to carry the day where the Nazis failed. At a time when venerating stones and trees has captured the young English imagination, when weekly attendance at Anglican worship services is in the single digits, and when there are more Moslems practicing their faith in London than members of the Church of England, is Mr. Morton's thought still strange? My one regret is that I did not find this book before my recent trip to London. As it is, my memories and impressions are still fresh enough to reminisce with Mr. Morton.

Writing as Timeless as London Itself

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.