Nursery Rhymes of London Town

by Eleanor Farjeon

Little boy, little boy, what is the matter?
Madam, the sea has been turned into batter!

Eleanor Farjeon’s delightful London nursery rhymes are known and loved all over the world, and told with characteristic humour and playfulness. Reimagine London with these charming and timeless rhymes for all ages.

A charming, surprisingly funny collection that will be loved by adults and children alike.

122 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1916

About the author

Daughter of Benjamin Leopold Farjeon, sister of Herbert Farjeon and J. Jefferson Farjeon.

Eleanor Farjeon was an English author of children's stories and plays, poetry, biography, history and satire. Many of her works had charming illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Some of her correspondence has also been published. She won many literary awards and the prestigious Eleanor Farjeon Award for children's literature is presented annually in her memory by the Children's Book Circle, a society of publishers.

Awards:
Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing (1956)

Reviews

[Gerry]

Eleanor Farjeon produces 52 rhymes of London Town, covering The Angel to Wormwood Scrubs all of which give a clue to what the relevant district is about, tell a tale of some historical significance or have a play on words of the title of the area. And they are all supported by a fine coloured frontispiece of Threadneedle Street and plenty of black and white line drawings by Macdonald Gill.

For instance 'Piccadilly' is simply told by mentioning 'Pick a dilly! pick a daffy! pick a daffy-dilly!' with mention of the 'flower girl at the fountain head' who are 'nodding willy-nilly'. On the other hand 'Mayfair' mentions 'Shepherd Market' [I used to go there in my lunchtime to buy cheaper priced floral ties!] and dancing round the 'Maypole at May-Fair'.

St John's Wood disappointingly for a cricket lover fails to mention Lord's but does ask the question, after telling the reader 'Saint John walked in a Wood', 'But where is the good Saint John?' Who knows?

I particularly liked 'The Strand' for when I first went to London that was where my Dad and I went to a Lyons Corner House for a bite to eat and a drink and I always thought it was posh and where as Eleanor mentions 'Ding, dong, ding!/Down the Strand their lovely knells/Echo from Saint Martin's bells'.

And rather than mention the world famous market at 'Petticoat Lane', the rhyme concentrates on 'Washing-day' with 'Petticoats all hanging out' while Wormwood Scrubs is a play on words, finishing with 'Wormwood scrubs on her hands and knees,/But oh, it's plainly seen/Though she use a ton of elbow-grease/She'll never get it clean.' 'Hammersmith' is similar in that it concerns a workman shoeing a pony, therefore 'hammer, Smith! hammer Smith/For I want to ride down the Broadway.' [[Hammersmith Broadway used to have a couple of good bookshops on it and I spent considerable time there - but I visited by car so did not need the Smith!

All the rhymes are very jolly and they make for a pleasing read.

[Sem]

My advice is: don't bother with this. Read 'The Tale of Tom Tiddler' instead which does the same kind of thing to much greater effect. Nice illustrations though.