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The Best American Food Writing 2020 by J. Kenji López-Alt

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Karen is Currently Reading

Karen is currently reading

The Best American Food Writing 2020

by J. Kenji López-Alt

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Jan 29, 2021 03:05PM

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London

by Edward Rutherfurd (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: historical-fiction, united-kingdom, london, unfinished, currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

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Karen said: " I tried to read this in 2014, but I only got about a third the way through it. I don't think I can read this detail rich history of London (from the Roman days to the 20th C.) without doing it in stages. Consequently, I'm going to summarize chapters I tried to read this in 2014, but I only got about a third the way through it. I don't think I can read this detail rich history of London (from the Roman days to the 20th C.) without doing it in stages. Consequently, I'm going to summarize chapters as I go. I'll have to check it out of the library several times.

(Pre-COVID19, I dreamed about traveling to London. During the pandemic, I'm reading more about London specifically and England in general.)

54 BCE Ch. 1 "The River" starts with a geological explanation of how the Thames was formed. (This reminds me of the opening chapter of Chesapeake by Michener about the bay, with geese as the POV characters in that novel.) Then it shifts to what-is-now London during 54 BC when the Claudius led the second invasion of Romans into England. The point of view characters are three people: 1) a 9 yo boy, Segovax "Fisher," whose father goes with other locals in a vain attempt to defend their Celtic tribe from the Roman occupation; 2) his mother, Cartimandua, who is trying to secure a safe place to hide during the forthcoming invasion; and 3) an aged druid man (nearly 70 yo).

251 CE - Ch. 2 "Londinium" is set in 251 CE and focuses on a character named Julius. The Romans are running the city, but Julius is a native. He is a young man living at home but trying to situate himself in a city of 2,500 that is full of opportunities--some of them on the level, some of them criminal, some of them part of a secret society. We get to meet a lot of the city's inhabitants--a carpenter, a boxer, a mariner, a centurion, as well as the women proximate to these men.

604 CE - Ch. 3 "The Rood" is set well after the Romans left London. The main characters are an couple, Offa (a descendant of "Fischer") and his Anglo-Saxon wife Ricola. They encounter a Nordic woman, Elfiga, who is a lady, married to a nobleman-merchant named Cedric. These individuals have conflicts they have to negotiated (i.e., slavery as well as women of all social standings being pawns to men); however, the broader conflict is between loyalty to the Nordic and Celtic gods and the increasing influence of Christianity. The historical event grounding this chapter is the arrival of Mellitus (an archbishop) to London to start construction of the 1st of several versions of the St. Paul cathedral.

1066 CE - Ch. 4 "The Conqueror" isn't all about the invasion. It depicts the power wrangling that merchants, Catholics, and nobles conducted to play a game of "chess" with each other in order to exert power. The first half of the chapter focuses on a Saxon named Loefric and a Dane named Barnikel. One is in debt to the other, and their children are betrothed. The second half of the chapter shifts to Alfred, descendant of Offa. He gets a job making chain mail and forges connections with powerful men.

1078 CE - Ch. 5 "The Tower" continues tales about men in the prior chapter. Barnikle and Alfred make arms in case there is a chance to push William out. A handful of women serve to carry messages about personal and political intrigue. The chapter contains details about the building of the Tower of London.

1170 CE - Ch. 6 “The Saint" describes several characters concurrent to Thomas Becket and Henry II. I suppose it's always the case that when there is any kind of power, there is also corruption, conspiring, hearsay, ambition. GAH!

1189 CE - Ch. 7 “The Mayor” describes the shift that London made to a commune, which had an effect on taxes among other things and led to the signing of the Magna Carter. This chapter includes clergy, merchants, and court appointees and how the wield public and personal power.

1295 CE - CH. 8 "The Whorehouse" tells the story of a virgin, Joan, intent on helping her intended, Martin, be freed from a hanging. She solicits the help of twin whores at the Dog's Head brothel. ...more "

Feb 20, 2021 07:51AM · see review

Karen’s Quotes

“Men will always be mad, and those who think they can cure them are the maddest of all.”
― Voltaire

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“A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him.

Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted! ”
― Buddha, The Dhammapada: Verses on the Way

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