London (novel)

London
First edition cover
Author	Edward Rutherfurd
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre	Historical novel
Publisher	Century Hutchinson
Publication date	May 1997
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	829 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN	ISBN 978-0-7126-5419-7 (first edition, hardback)
OCLC	36915944

London is a historical novel by Edward Rutherfurd, published in 1997. The story begins with the birth of the River Thames. It then moves to 54 BC and details the life of the young boy Segovax, a curious character with slightly webbed hands and a flash of white hair. It is this boy who becomes the ancestor of both the Ducket and Dogget families.

The novel spans two millennia leading up to the present time. It contains the families Ducket, Silversleeves, Bull, Barnikal, Carpenter, Meredith, and Penny. This book includes colorful characters. For example: a Puritan character named O Be Joyful Carpenter.

Literary significance and reception

"wide range of characters that the readers will either love or hate... all manner of people with all kinds of backgrounds... Rutherfurd is adept at showing how all classes throughout history, from slaves to kings, have contributed to London's development".^[1]

Also the Virginia Pilot said of the novel:

"With confidence and skill, Rutherfurd has separated those layers and produced a remarkable story of a great city. Once or twice the social, political and economic factors overshadow the fictional families, but that is almost inevitable when even the best fiction comes up against such an impressive spectrum of historical fact.".^[2]

Publication details

• 1997, UK, Century (ISBN 978-0-7126-5419-7), Pub date ? May 1997, hardback (First edition)
• 1997, USA, Crown Pub (ISBN 978-0517591819), Pub date ? June 1997, hardback
• 1997, UK, Century (ISBN 978-0712678384), Pub date ? ? 1997, paperback
• 1998, USA, Fawcett Books (ISBN 978-0449002636), Pub date 30 April 1998, paperback
• 1998, UK, Arrow Books (ISBN 978-0099201915), Pub date 7 May 1998, paperback
• 2002, USA, Ballantine Books (ISBN 978-0345455680), Pub date 1 November 2002, paperback

Footnotes

References

• Rutherfurd, Edward (May 1997). London (1st ed. ed.). London: Century. ISBN 978-0-7126-5419-7. 
• "Edward Rutherfurd books". Edward Rutherfurd official site. Retrieved 2008-02-21. 

External links

• The first chapter at New York Times Books