LoveReading Says
Peter Ackroyd’s Colours of London is a history book like no other. Often referred to by reviewers as "The Dickens of our day”, Ackroyd is an expert on the capital and since his first novel The Great Fire of London he has continued to establish his credentials as the leading historian and author on this subject.
With this latest book however, he is looking through an entirely different lens, and rather than focus on specific moments in time or areas of the city, has instead chosen a number of colours which he feels tell their own stories of London.
On first picking the book up and seeing the chapter list - White, Blue, Gold, Green etc - I was at first a little perplexed about where this was going. However, I’m delighted to say he pulls it out of the bag, and by some act of writing magic his list of colours provides a logical cohesion to the history of London. More importantly it brings history to life, and does so with a vibrancy only previously achieved through the works of artists such as Monet and Turner. Throughout the books there are colourized photographs which are key to making the whole idea work. What used to be a black and white city can now be seen as if photographed today. The buses were indeed red, the parks green and its splendid architectural ornamentation glittered gold.
Of course we knew this, but seeing it is an entirely different thing. London is a city of colour, it always has been, and Peter Ackroyd’s Colours of London celebrates this wonderfully.
Greg Hackett
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| Primary Genre |
History
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Colours of London : A History Synopsis
Celebrated novelist, biographer and critic Peter Ackroyd paints a vivid picture of one of the world's greatest cities in this brilliant and original work, exploring how the city's many hues have come to shape its history and identity.
Think of the colours of London and what do you imagine? The reds of open-top buses and terracotta bricks? The grey smog of Victorian industry, Portland stone and pigeons in Trafalgar square? Or the gradations of yellows, violets and blues that shimmer on the Thames at sunset - reflecting the incandescent light of a city that never truly goes dark?
We associate green with royal parks and the District Line; gold with royal carriages, the Golden Lane Estate, and the tops of monuments and cathedrals.
Colours of London shows us that colour is everywhere in the city, and each one holds myriad links to its past.
The colours of London have inspired artists (Whistler, Van Gogh, Turner, Monet), designers (Harry Beck) and social reformers (Charles Booth).
And from the city's first origins, Ackroyd shows how colour is always to be found at the heart of London's history, from the blazing reds of the Great Fire of London to the blackouts of the Blitz to the bold colours of royal celebrations and vibrant street life.
This beautifully written book examines the city's fascinating relationship with colour, alongside specially commissioned colourized photographs from Dynamichrome, which bring a lost London back to life.
London has been the main character in Ackroyd's work ever since his first novel, and he has won countless prizes in both fiction and non-fiction for his truly remarkable body of work. Here, he channels a lifetime of knowledge of the great city, writing with clarity and passion about the hues and shades which have shaped London's journey through history into the present day.
A truly invaluable book for lovers of art, history, photography or urban geography, this beautifully illustrated title tells a rich and fascinating story of the history of this great and ever-changing city.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780711269422 |
| Publication date: |
4th October 2022 |
| Author: |
Peter Ackroyd |
| Publisher: |
Frances Lincoln Publishers Ltd |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
256 pages |
| Primary Genre |
History
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| Other Genres: |
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