The Heart of London

H.V. Morton's London #1

by H.V. Morton

Originally published in 1925, this is the prequel to 'The Spell of London' and like the others in Morton's collection, it doesn't disappoint. It is touching and amusing in its accounts of the great city of London and its inhabitants. Contents Include: The New Romance - Where the Eagles Sleep - Oriental (Petticoat Lane) - Ships Come Home (The Docks) - Treasure Trove (Caledonian Market) - Cenotaph - Romance on Wheels - Ghosts of the Fog - Battle (Free Cancer Hospital) - Babies in the Sun (Kensington Gardens) - Faces in the Strand - Women and Tea - An Open Door (St. Martins Church in the Fields) - A Bit Bagdad (Club Row) - "Prisoners Only (Bow Street) - Boys on the Bridge - Night Birds - At The Wheel - Under the Dome (St. Pauls) - Heartbreak House - Madonna of the Pavement - Sword and Cross (Temple Church) - Knockout Land - Ghosts (Soane Museum) - Aladdin's Cave - That Sad Stone (Cleopatra's Needle) - Sun or Snow - Romantic Mutton (Shepherd's Market) - London Lovers - In Uncle's Shop - Horsey Men - From Bow to Ealing - Marriage - Marriage - Kings and Queens (Westminster Abbey Waxworks) - Lost Heirs (Record Office) - Fish (Billingsgate Market) - Haunted (Old Devonshire House) - About Homes in Bondage - Royal Satin (London Museum) - Among the Men - Appeal to Caesar (Privy Council) - Tons of Money (The Royal Mint) - Where Time Stands Still - My Lady's Dress - St. Antholin's Not for Women - Our Roman Bath (The Strand) - Left Behind (Lost Property Office) - The "Girls" (Piccadilly Circus)

Genres: Travel, London, History

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1925

About the author

Henry Canova Vollam (H.V.) Morton, FRSL, was a journalist and pioneering travel writer from Lancashire, England, best known for his prolific and popular books on Britain and the Holy Land. He first achieved fame in 1923 when, while working for the Daily Express, he scooped the official Times correspondent during the coverage of the opening of the Tomb of Tutankhamon by Howard Carter in Egypt.

In the late 1940s he moved to South Africa, settling near Cape Town in Somerset West and became a South African citizen.

Reviews

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Heart Of London By H.V. Morton
This is the next of my dads old books that I have
read. Dad bought this 1920's classic for 3
shillings way back when. I don't know what the
asking price is these days for the current
reprint of it.
That this book, a collection of some of H.V.
Mortons columns for the Daily Express, is still
being reprinted will give you an idea of how good
the writing is, he captures in words the feeling
of what living in London was like in the 1920's.
He imagines up a great multicultral city of many
nationalities getting along together and he looks
into the eyes of the soldiers returning from the
Afghan front or the Battle of Bhagdhad to see
there joy that the Strand is still there almost
as they remember it.
He also visits the John Soane museum and shepherds
market among many places and gives us a flavour
of what was happening in each as well as great
accounts of the all night coffee bars. Then were
off to the vaults, he also gets access to the
Royal Mint, sometimes his accent can get a bit
too upper class but mainly he just paints a great
picture of London then to allow you to realise
both how little and how much things have changed
I look forward to reading some more of his books.

[Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Series of newspaper columns about London life from the 1920s, akin to Dicken’ Sketches by Boz. I read this for background colour for a novel I’m writing set in London at that time, but ended up enjoying it on its own terms - Morton has a wonderfully lively writing style. Available for free at Project Gutenberg.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Watched movies Nell Gwynne, Cleopatra and My best girl.
Discovered and liked these wonderful shops in Melbourne: Linda Black, The Ole Tin Hat, Smits & Bits, Kay Craddock etc.
It's all because of this book The Heart of London.
Morton's books will teach you how to explore a place.

[Sallie White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant to put it in perspective of post war ww1 London and yet pre 2nd war it's was brilliant and they way h v morton writes is so beautiful it's satisfying to read. It was a please through and through

[Trepkos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whimsical descriptions of scenes in London, including some little-known places, written about 100 years ago. Astonishing how much and how little has changed.

[Persephone Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a funny little volume I picked up second hand. I had absolutely no expectations and was surprised to discover that the writing is really very good and the manner in which Mr. Morton tells a story -- a journalistic story without placing himself centre of the action and letting the city of London take the spot light -- is really all very engaging. I wish more "blogs" or travel logs read like Mr. Morton's prose. The depiction of pre WWII London is a treat, although in one of the first stories the racist remarks were very disagreeable, and had to be swallowed with a dose of "in those ignorant days" pills.

[Alice Sather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable exposé of London immediately post WW I.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good !