| LONDON BOOKS is an independent publisher which aims to bring old and new fiction together in a tradition that is original in its subject matter, style and social concerns. We believe that the marginalised fiction of the past can be as relevant and exciting today as when it was first published, and our classic reprints will reflect the language and politics of tougher eras, while our new fiction will focus on emerging authors with something to say and a novel way of getting their messages across. |
NEW RELEASES |
|
|
| LONDON CLASSICS |
|
NEW RELEASE
Jew Boy – Simon Blumenfeld
With an introduction by Ken Worpole
The founding work of what went on to become the literature of the 20th-century Jewish East End, this is a novel about poverty and politics in a world of boxers, anarchists, communists, actors, poets, gamblers and gangsters. Simon Blumenfeld was born and bred in Whitechapel, and Jew Boy represents a unique time and place now firmly embedded in London’s volatile history. MORE>> |
 |
NEW RELEASE
The Angel And The Cuckoo – Gerald Kersh
Introduction by Paul Duncan
Released to celebrate the centenary of Gerald Kersh, this Soho-based novel is a sprawling celebration of London and its myriad characters, as seen from a café off Carnaby Street. The Angel And The Cuckoo is Kersh’s last masterpiece, a journey into the absurdities of city life by the British author of stories with a cosmopolitan flavour. MORE>> |
 |
May Day – John Sommerfield
Introduction by John King
Set over three days in the 1930s, May Day follows the fortunes of a broad range of characters as social unrest bubbles over in the East End and spreads across London. First published in 1936, the events driving this fluent and imaginative novel – mass anger at politicians and big business, speed-ups and wage cuts, social unrest and police violence – could easily describe Britain today. MORE>> |
 |
They Drive By Night - James Curtis
Introduction by Jonathan Meades
Released from Pentonville Prison on the same day as a man is hanged, Shorty Mathews visits an old girlfriend only to find her strangled. He panics, sure the police will blame him, and goes on the run on the Great North Road. Back in London the real killer is prowling the streets. The hangman hovers. Someone needs to pay the toll. More cult fiction from James Curtis. MORE >>
|
 |
Wide Boys Never Work - Robert Westerby
Introduction by Iain Sinclair
Sacked from his job in a car factory, Jim Bankley joins a gang of wide boys. He is soon earning good money, moving between Soho and the White City dog-track. Life is sweet. But when boss Bill Franks is locked up after a fight with the Gisburg mob things start to change. This is a lost gem from Robert Westerby, right up there with the finest London street fiction. MORE >>
|
 |
A Start In Life - Alan Sillitoe
Introduction by DJ Taylor
From his first novel Saturday Night And Sunday Morning to his most recent A Man Of His Time, Alan Sillitoe has consistently produced quality fiction and remains one of English literature's greatest talents. A Start In Life, employing the picaresque form to record the adventures of chancer Michael Cullen in the 'lollipop metropolis' of London, is a great example of his talent. This edition includes a preface by the author. MORE>> |
 |
Night And The City - Gerald Kersh
Introduction by John King
One of the greatest of the so-called London lowlife novels, Night And The City introduces Harry Fabian to the world and with him a prototype for Flash Harrys everywhere. Author Gerald Kersh was a street-wise character and a prolific author, his face a familiar sight around Soho in the Thirties and Forties. This classic text doubles as a social document, capturing as it does the colour and excitement of a vanished London. MORE> |
 |
The Gilt Kid - James Curtis
Introduction by Paul Willetts
The debut novel from socialist author James Curtis, The Gilt Kid was first published in 1936 and remains as sharp in its dialogue and use of the vernacular as anything around today. Curtis was a maverick talent, his idealism clearly fuelling his work. This London Classics edition features a special interview with Nicolette Edwards, the author's daughter, conducted by Paul Willetts, biographer of Julian Maclaren-Ross. MORE>> |
|
| NEW BRITISH FICTION |
 |
Barry Desmond Is A Wanker – Martin Knight
Barry Desmond is an only child who becomes an only adult. A sheltered upbringing leaves him ill-equipped to cope with the savagery of the outside world, but unlike his parents he believes that people are essentially decent. Will society repay Barry’s trust? Barry Desmond Is A Wanker is a study in 21st-century isolation and the battle to survive when your face doesn’t fit. MORE>> |
 |
Malayan Swing - Pete Haynes
Aidan is different. He is small, awkward and often silent, an easy man to ignore, mock or exploit, yet on the inside he is intelligent and thoughtful. He is the narrator of Malayan Swing and speaks to the reader in a way he can’t manage in everyday life, reflecting on the world with great insight and an almost childlike honesty. This is the internal life of an outsider. MORE>> |
|
| LONDON CULTURE |
 |
Gypsy Joe - Joe Smith
The story of a gypsy boy who made and kept a promise to his grandfather. Joe Smith was a protégé golfer, but faced with prejudice and rejection lost his way, his life spiralling into violence, crime and alcohol. At his lowest point he remembered his promise – and fought back to become a professional golfer. A moving story of redemption and fulfilled dreams. MORE>>
|
 |
The Special Ones - Chelsea by the Fans
The Special Ones covers supporter memories stretching back nearly seventy years and belongs to the people who made Chelsea unique, and is a social document as much as a football book. Individual memories are supplemented by sections on the songs sung over the decades as well as the fanzine movement, opinion and humour expressed in song and print. MORE>> |
|
|
|
|
|
LONDON CLASSICS
There Ain’t No Justice
James Curtis
A Child Of The Jago
Arthur Morrison
Prelude To A Certain Midnight
Gerald Kersh
Mord Em’ly
William Pett Ridge
|
|
|
|