Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 477

London – City Of (Half) Light

These London pictures by Katarina Stefanović are astonishing for an unusual reason. They've been sensitively photoshopped in terms of light source, so that they look as London might look if it was on a geographical parallel with Paris.

The very thing most tourists comment upon when they come to London for the first time – [...]

Which Is More Vulgar?

To be honest, a visit to Versailles is not high on my list of things to do before I die. The sheer aching vulgarity of such vast cathedrals of wealth largely leaves me cold, although I have great admiration for the craft-skills involved in their manufacture.

Now, a descendant of King Louis XIV is seeking a [...]

My Glittering Life

It seemed like a good idea at the time. I was going to a gallery opening to see paintings by Trademark, who portrays the famous and infamous (he's produced canvasses of everyone from Divine to Michael Alig). Paul Burston, the novelist and Time Out editor, had become the subject of one of the pictures, and [...]

A Patriot Explains

I have had a fascination with American economics and politics ever since Watergate (I was at school then and read every book on the subject I could lay my hands on). The Tea Party is the most interesting (and disturbing) new development in US politics since then.

You may have seen this viral when it [...]

A Guide To London Greetings

Having Fun With The London Eye

Check out this nicely amateurish-looking tourist video of the London Eye…

Lantern Jack

I'm pleased with Matthew Green's illustration commissioned by the Independent On Sunday for my Halloween story Lantern Jack – so few illustrations (as opposed to comps) get produced today. There's another on the next page, too. It's great that a national newspaper still values fiction enough to run stories. The tale will go into my [...]

One From The Vaults

A big thank you to Jan, Laurence, Maureen and the rest of the crew at the London Metropolitan Archive last night for a thoroughly fun Gothic Halloween Night. As a tip to future event organisers thinking of running readings nights, do what the LMA did – find your reader a comfy chair. It makes a [...]

Celebrity 11: Props!

Our first props have appeared – our lead character is a chain-smoker, so the smokeless stage-fags are drafted in for our leading lady, who has never smoked. It's time to explain to her that there are certain ways in which smokers respect space by holding their ciggies away from others. Snouts are great, because they [...]

There Goes The Neighbourhood

Charles Booth's massive study on the London poor, created at the end of the 19th century, has been compared to present-day London in a new study. Booth had used school board visitors, who provided very detailed records of how families were living. The project was expected to last two years but took 20, and the [...]