Welcome to British Isles Friday! British Isles Friday is a weekly event for sharing all things British and Irish — reviews, photos, opinions, trip reports, guides, links, resources, personal stories, interviews, and research posts. Join us each Friday to link your British and Irish themed content and to see what others have to share. The link list is at the bottom of this post. Pour a cup of tea or lift a pint and join our link party!

Last week, I reviewed The Diplomat, a Netflix series about the American ambassador to the UK.

Book: London: A Gude for Curious Wanderers by Jack Chester, illustrated by Katharine Fraser
Genre: Nonfiction
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Publication date: 2023

Source: Hardback borrowed from the library

Summary: London: A Gude for Curious Wanderers is a handsome book with charming illustrations. The book is divided into four sections.

The first section shows us London architecture through history. I love learning about the history of a city through its buildings, but guidebooks are usually organized by physical area, each containing a jumbled mix of structures from various time periods. This guidebook takes us through a chronology, beginning with bits of Roman wall and ending with modern skyscrapers.

Section two covers the meanings behind names, symbols, and art works that are visible in London. The book answers questions that I never thought to ask:

• Why are their four St. Botolph churches? (p. 67)
• What’s up with all the pineapples? (p. 72)
• What is the oldest statue? (pp. 98 and 99)

The third section tells the fascinating stories behind some of the ordinary objects of London, like lamp posts and street signs. We also learn the many ways that London handled the bodily functions of the public throughout history.

From section four, we learn about natural London from its buried rivers to its pocket gardens to its royal parks. I’m not sure why I didn’t know this before, but the London plane tree (the most common street tree in London) is thought to be a hybrid of the American sycamore and a plane tree from Asia. I remember wondering at the splotchy bark that reminded me so much of the sycamore trees at home.

Thoughts: Last year for Black Friday, I wrote about the most giftable British book I read in 2023, Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village by Maureen Johnson & Jay Cooper. When I encountered London: A Gude for Curious Wanderers by Jack Chester, I had the same thought — this would be a great book to give someone who loves London. The book makes for delightful armchair travel and would also be a terrific companion on your next trip to London.

Each of the four sections ends with a walking tour that features some of the sites mentioned in that part of the book (as well as sites from other sections that happen to be in the area of the tour). Each tour is accompanied by a clear map to make it easy to find what you’re looking for.

The author, Jack Chester, is a London tour guide and the blogger behind Living London History with a new post each week. The blog contains great stories, photographs, and historical drawings.

Appeal: If a London lover is on your holiday gift-giving list, London: A Gude for Curious Wanderers is the perfect gift.