A London Year: 365 Days of City Life in Diaries, Journals and Letters compiled by Travis Elborough and Nick Rennison
This collection is fascinating, giving glimpses of life in London from the 16th century to the 21st century. The collection includes journalists, actors, nobility, royalty, writers, poets, musicians and many more. The subjects range widely from food and housing to entertainments, money, sex, friendship, society, geography, architecture, and politics. The length also varies, from single sentences to multiple pages, although most are a paragraph or two.
The book is arranged by the days of the year, with some days having only one entry while others have several. I enjoyed trying to guess the rough year of the entry by the subject and language before looking to see it. I tended to read a month in a sitting, thinking about the time of year, and researching a little if I wasn't familiar with the diarist or writer. The compilers included occasional notes to explain some references to people or events they thought needed additional explanation.
A fascinating look at a city through the eyes of residents and visitors.
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