Hi everyone,
I'm currently on holiday in London and Oxford. Both places are considered to have been an inspiration for Harry Potter and were also used for its film adaptation. My question is whether you could recommend books that are actually set in London and Oxford, rather than just inspired by them like HP. I'm open to all genres except romance.
Best, PP
by PsyPomato
10 Comments
A. L. Kennedy, Serious sweet
The Northern Lights trilogy by Phillip Pullman is partly set in Oxford. Would highly recommend; it’s one of my favourite series!
How about Rivers of London? I was pleasantly surprised by the local architectural details in the novel.
>Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut. But Peter’s prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter’s ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.
London by Edward Rutherford (or Sarum by the same author)
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger pairs well with a visit to Highgate Cemetery.
For Oxford – Babel
Inspector Morse series takes place in Oxford. Great books
I second the Inspector Morse books for Oxford. Also Brideshead Revisited (partly set there).
There are sooooo many books set in London, lots quite specific to certain neighbourhoods
In contemporary fiction, try NW or White Teeth by Zadie Smith. Brick Lane by Monica Ali. The Bricks That Built The Houses by Kae Tempest. A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks.
Or going more historical, try Dickens novels for Victorian London settings. The Wolf Hall series for Tudor London.
Enjoy your trip!
If you’re into historical fiction I have a few recommendations set in London
– Dark Earth by Rebecca Stott (set in Saxon Britain, two sisters living on the outskirts of an abandoned Londonium)
– The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner (set between modern day and 1700s London)
– Blood & Sugar by Laura Shepherd Robinson (set in 1700s London, much darker than the previous rec.)
– The Foundling by Stacy Halls (another in 1700s London)
– The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar (I’m beginning to realise I’ve read a lot of books set in 1700s London)