The Gentle Author

Spitalfields Life collects a treasure trove of blogs written by the "Gentle Author". Each chapter is a miniature portrait of a person, a place, a community in the area. As you'd expect, this book is steeped as much in history as the modern era; there are some truly fascinating, peculiar, and kindly humorous stories contained in here. What was more interesting still were the pictures painted of jobs and ways of life that are practically invisible on the surface of things. It's really something you have to read to get the full expression and impression of this place and these people. It is a work of wonderfully compact social history. In its own way, it is rather Dickensian, a little E.P. Thompson, and a little Eastenders. To top that, the writing is gentle, amusing and inquisitive. All Boroughs of London (and, perhaps, all places) deserve such a book (!).… (mais)