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Secret London - An Unusual Guide
Where can you find monsters in Trafalgar Square? Whatever happened to Bedlam? Where can you praise God, buy meat- balls and have a sauna? What's in the House of Dreams? To which secret society does Prince Charles belong? What's the trick to instant weight loss? Secret London, An Unusual Guide, is the original and still the best of all the many alternative London guides: accept no imitation. Authors Rachel Howard and Bill Nash have prowled the city streets, seeking out the hidden, eccentric and overlooked. Now the definitive insider's guide to London has been fully updated, with over 40 new entries and a brand new look. Far from the crowds and the usual cliches, London still reserves a number of hidden treasures for those who know how to wander off the beaten track.
384 pages, Paperback
First published April 9, 2009
13 people are currently reading
306 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Howard
35 books10 followersRachel Howard's debut novel, The Risk of Us, will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt April 2019. She is also the author of a memoir, The Lost Night, and her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in ZYZZYVA, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Gulf Coast, the New Yorker online, and the New York Times. She lives in Nevada City, California.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 27, 2019
A really amazing guide for both a visitor or a permanent resident who wants to see more than the usual sightseeing. London is such a huge and amazing city that is never over. This book is an opportunity to discover more of London's secrets.
September 5, 2015
20150708 ◊ There are enough gems in Secret London to make it worth the price -- but not the weight, so I'd recommend researching the book before your trip, photocopying/scanning what you want to visit, and leaving the book itself at home. With that said, the edition is gorgeous - great graphic design, beautiful glossy photographs, satisfyingly thick paper. It's a joy to thumb through, just not to lug around. Recommended!
November 25, 2020
Alcuni posti erano già noti, altri sono stati una vera scoperta. Non resta che andarli a scoprire di persona.
November 6, 2020
I truly enjoyed following the spots described in this dense book (that I haven't discovered before). Those little boxes with particularly interesting points were quite well aggregated and spot-on.
January 31, 2010
I was looking forward to receiving Secret London - An Unusual Guide, but with slight trepidation. There are so many ‘hidden London’ guidebooks out there that I thought his one would just be a re-spin of a well-trodden genre. How wrong I was. Secret London, An Unusual Guide is quite simply brilliant.
When it arrived, I casually opened it up, and cast my cynical eye on the first article I saw: "The Mummy of Jimmy Garlick", in St James Garlickhythe Church in between The City and St Pauls. Now, I know this part of London rather well, and I also know this Christopher Wren church, but I had no idea there was a mummy in it.
Discovered by builders in the 19th century, and nicknamed "Jimmy", there is fierce debate about who this desiccated cadaver was. He’s not wrapped up ala Tutenkhamen, but is al fresco and perfectly preserved at that. They reckon he died around the time of the Great Fire and was ‘cooked’ while laying in state. Yuck.
Nevertheless, Jimmy has had quite the life after death, as it were. According to the book, when Jimmy was discovered, "the canny beadle didn’t care about Jimmy Garlick’s true identity. He hid Jimmy behind the organ and charged people a few pennies to gawp at him." A century later, Jimmy was moved to a cupboard and was taken out every now and then for choir practice. In the 1980’s he was moved to his current resting place in the bell tower.
Not all stories in Secret London are this grim, or this funny, but they are all equally fascinating and enlightening. The book finishes off with a list of 35 unusual bars, cafes and restaurants.
It’s also worth noting that the publishers made the book easy to use while on the hoof.
When it arrived, I casually opened it up, and cast my cynical eye on the first article I saw: "The Mummy of Jimmy Garlick", in St James Garlickhythe Church in between The City and St Pauls. Now, I know this part of London rather well, and I also know this Christopher Wren church, but I had no idea there was a mummy in it.
Discovered by builders in the 19th century, and nicknamed "Jimmy", there is fierce debate about who this desiccated cadaver was. He’s not wrapped up ala Tutenkhamen, but is al fresco and perfectly preserved at that. They reckon he died around the time of the Great Fire and was ‘cooked’ while laying in state. Yuck.
Nevertheless, Jimmy has had quite the life after death, as it were. According to the book, when Jimmy was discovered, "the canny beadle didn’t care about Jimmy Garlick’s true identity. He hid Jimmy behind the organ and charged people a few pennies to gawp at him." A century later, Jimmy was moved to a cupboard and was taken out every now and then for choir practice. In the 1980’s he was moved to his current resting place in the bell tower.
Not all stories in Secret London are this grim, or this funny, but they are all equally fascinating and enlightening. The book finishes off with a list of 35 unusual bars, cafes and restaurants.
It’s also worth noting that the publishers made the book easy to use while on the hoof.
March 17, 2013
I bought this because I've been in London a lot of times and I wanted to discover new places, slightly off the beaten track.
This book is fantastic - there's many different places to choose from - museums, sights, gardens... the information is short, concise, with maps and overview as well as info on entry prices and opening times. The places recommended are definitely worth checking out - I've been to some alreayd, like Nunhead Victorian Cemetary, and I loved them.
The book will definitely be in my luggage on the next London trip!
This book is fantastic - there's many different places to choose from - museums, sights, gardens... the information is short, concise, with maps and overview as well as info on entry prices and opening times. The places recommended are definitely worth checking out - I've been to some alreayd, like Nunhead Victorian Cemetary, and I loved them.
The book will definitely be in my luggage on the next London trip!
October 5, 2025
Secret London: An Unusual Guide is a gorgeous book — I loved its compact size, glossy pages, and the sheer quality of the photographs. It’s packed with juicy historical details, bits of folklore, and the kind of strange, forgotten stories that make you see the city with new eyes. You can really tell a lot of love went into researching these hidden corners of London.
That said, a few of the entries felt a bit like filler — not every spot captured that same sense of mystery or wonder. Some choices, like the Greenwich Foot Tunnel or Marylebone Cricket Club, felt more ordinary than “hidden” or “unusual.” I was expecting more of the macabre, quirky, or spooky gems — the oddities that make London’s underbelly so endlessly fascinating.
Still, it’s a beautifully made book and a lovely companion for anyone who enjoys wandering off the beaten path and discovering the city’s lesser-known sites and tales.
That said, a few of the entries felt a bit like filler — not every spot captured that same sense of mystery or wonder. Some choices, like the Greenwich Foot Tunnel or Marylebone Cricket Club, felt more ordinary than “hidden” or “unusual.” I was expecting more of the macabre, quirky, or spooky gems — the oddities that make London’s underbelly so endlessly fascinating.
Still, it’s a beautifully made book and a lovely companion for anyone who enjoys wandering off the beaten path and discovering the city’s lesser-known sites and tales.
May 17, 2020
Some nice hidden gems discussed in this guide - worth a read if you think you have visited it all in London, with chapters representing specific areas. It will also give you some background information on the place you are visiting.
March 9, 2018
We found this a very useful book when we visited London giving lots of ideas for unusual places to visit some off the normal tourist track
August 31, 2019
This is a fantastic guide book for some of the more obscure tourist attractions in our capital city
March 20, 2024
This is an awesome unusual guide. You might need to have post-its ready.
May 5, 2016
Not a bad travel guide to unusual and interesting things to see and do in London.
The thing I found interesting was that a lot of the places were already in my own carefully compiled To Visit book, or were visited last year. But it was nice to see photos of some places I haven't seen. As a result some places have gone up the list, and others have gone down into the "will do if I have time" area.
My only quibble is that the print is too small for older eyes. This stopped it from being 4 stars.
The thing I found interesting was that a lot of the places were already in my own carefully compiled To Visit book, or were visited last year. But it was nice to see photos of some places I haven't seen. As a result some places have gone up the list, and others have gone down into the "will do if I have time" area.
My only quibble is that the print is too small for older eyes. This stopped it from being 4 stars.
August 11, 2016
What an interesting and fun book. BUT---the font is way to small. I actually read it with a magnifying lens. Although I would like to read the other books in this series, I will not since the print is so tiny.
March 9, 2013
have made giant list of places to see whenever i am next over that way. eager to read more in this series. absolutely fascinating.
January 25, 2014
Fantastic! If you are curious, this is the guide for you. "Simply Brilliant!"
August 25, 2015
Obscure and quirky things and locations to see in London. While these things might not be on your to do list, it was good to see those that were near the big ticket items.
March 14, 2016
Love london as a city and have done all the well know sights, this is a great guide that allows you to see places in london you would never think to go to.
May 31, 2012
Interesting to find out about not printed things in famous London guides.
June 17, 2018
This guide has a bunch of interesting facts and a bunch of nifty places to visit. As a whole, this guide is not really for tourists but for new residents of London who saunter to consume their time.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews