Books
A bedtime book every evening, an extract with our own foreword, walking routes through the places writers knew, and where to borrow the book free or buy it.
Gulliver’s Travels at 300: why Swift’s book is far sharper than it looks
On 28 October 1726 Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels appeared and became an instant sensation. Lilliputians and giants made it famous, but Swift packed in biting political satire, a mockery of science and even a machine that writes books. Here is why, 300 years on, it still feels modern.
Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy — a book for the night: the opening, the author and a Dorset trail
Hardy’s most famous novel — a direct defence of a poor woman condemned for another’s fault. The opening line, the author’s dates and a trail through Hardy’s Dorset Wessex — with prices and the venues’ status checked today.
Robin Hood by Howard Pyle — a book for the night: the opening, the author and a Sherwood Forest trail
The “standard” Robin Hood that Howard Pyle both wrote and drew himself. The opening line, the author’s dates and a trail through the real Sherwood Forest — with hours and prices checked today.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë — a book for the night: the opening, the author and a Yorkshire moors trail
The most famous novel about a poor governess who keeps her dignity. The opening line in the original, Jane’s most famous words, Charlotte Brontë’s dates, and a trail through Yorkshire’s Haworth with the Parsonage Museum’s hours and prices checked today.
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Black Beauty by Anna Sewell — a book for the night: the opening, the author and a Norfolk trail
The editors’ evening pick: Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty (1877), a story told by the horse himself and the first great voice for animal welfare. With the opening lines, a note on the author and a trail to her Norfolk places.
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins — a book for the night: the opening, the author and a London trail
The editors’ evening pick: Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White (1859), one of the first English detective novels and a model «sensation novel» — with a passage, a note on the author and a trail through Collins’s London places.
The Secret Garden by Burnett — a book for the night: the opening, the author and a walk through London's gardens
The editors' evening pick: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911) — warm children's classic about a neglected garden that comes back to life; with the opening lines, a note on the author and a route to the gardens that inspired it.
The War of the Worlds by Wells — a book for the night: the opening, the author and a Woking trail
The editors' evening pick: The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (1898) — the first novel of invasion from space, set in Surrey near Woking; with the opening lines, a note on the author and a trail to the book's real places.
Dracula: a book for the night this Halloween — the opening, the author and a Gothic London route
The editors' Halloween pick: Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897), a Gothic novel in letters and diaries — with the opening lines, a note on the author and a route from Highgate to Whitby.
The Railway Children: a bedtime book about steam trains, and where to ride one
Tonight's pick: E. Nesbit's The Railway Children — a warm story of three children, a branch-line railway and the wait on a smoky platform, with an extract, a route and where to find it.
The Picture of Dorian Gray: a bedtime book and a walk through Oscar Wilde's London
A novel that pretends to be drawing-room chatter and turns out to be the most unsettling book about beauty and its price — plus a walk through Oscar Wilde's London, still standing.
Peter Pan: a bedtime book and a walk through the Kensington Gardens where he was born
The boy who wouldn’t grow up was born on walks through Kensington Gardens, and his statue was put up there overnight — so children would think the fairies had brought it. Tonight’s bedtime read is James Barrie: the first extract, and a walking route around Peter Pan’s London, all of it free.
Jekyll and Hyde: a bedtime book about a double life in gaslit London
A respectable doctor lets out his dark half — and loses control of it. The most famous story of a double life, in the fog of gaslit London. We read Stevenson, give the first extract, and show where in London those very gas lamps still burn — for free.
The Jungle Book: a bedtime read about Mowgli, the pack and the Law of the Jungle
Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera and Shere Khan — but nothing like Disney. Stern, beautiful stories about law and the pack, one an evening. We read Rudyard Kipling, give the first extract, and show where to find his jungle in England.
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Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four: the bedtime book that gave us Big Brother and Newspeak
‘Big Brother is watching you’, ‘Newspeak’, ‘thoughtcrime’ — all from one book. Not a cozy read, but everyone should read it. We read Nineteen Eighty-Four, give the first extract, and map Orwell’s London — all of it free.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit: a five-minute bedtime book, and where to see Beatrix Potter’s drawings
The shortest bedtime tale: a naughty rabbit sneaks into the garden for lettuce and loses his jacket. We read Beatrix Potter, give the first extract, and show where in London you can see her real watercolours for free.
Mrs Dalloway: a bedtime book you can walk across London
A whole life in a single June day in London: a hostess goes out for flowers, Big Ben strikes, and the characters’ thoughts flow in a stream. We read Virginia Woolf, give the first extract, and map the novel — all in central London, and all free.
The Wind in the Willows: a quiet bedtime book about the river, Mole and Water Rat
The coziest of English tales — about a river, a burrow with a fireplace and friendship next door. Almost no plot, and so perfect for bedtime. We read Kenneth Grahame, give the first extract, and show how to reach the real Thames in an hour from London.
Book at bedtime: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, twelve evenings
The 1892 collection: twelve stories, one an evening. The text is free on Project Gutenberg and the Baker Street museum opens daily, adult £19.
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Three Men in a Boat by Jerome — a book for the night: the opening, the author and a Thames trail
The editors' evening pick: Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome (1889) — the kindest English comedy of a Thames trip; with the opening lines, a note on the author and a trail to the book's real places.
Poetry London in a day: a museum, a poets' cafe, a library and an abbey
Four stops on foot around Poems on the Underground: the London Transport Museum at £27 for a year, the free National Poetry Library, the Poetry Cafe on Betterton Street and Westminster Abbey at £32. Prices and times checked on 19 October 2026.
Book at bedtime: Alice in Wonderland and one street in Oxford
The 1865 book written by a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church. The text is free on Project Gutenberg, and the whole Alice route fits into a single Oxford street.
Poems on the Underground at 40: the autumn set and Saturday's concert
Poems on the Underground began in January 1986 as a scheme by three friends; its posters now reach three million travellers a day. The autumn set went up on 19 October, and the fortieth anniversary evening is at the Purcell Room on 24 October, tickets from £17.
Book at bedtime: Pride and Prejudice and the price of a good match
The 1813 novel about how money decided who married whom. The English text is free on Project Gutenberg; Austen's house at Chawton opens Wednesday to Sunday, adult £15.50.
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Bedtime book: Dickens's Bleak House and the best fog in literature
Chapter one of Bleak House is fifteen minutes of reading and the best description of London fog in literature. The text is in the public domain, so we print the passage in full — and the author's house on Doughty Street is open Wednesday to Sunday.
Russian-language books in Britain: where to buy them and what delivery costs
London has a bookshop that calls itself the UK's only English-Russian one: Bloomsbury, 10am to 9pm on weekdays. UK delivery starts at £3.50 and is free over £50 or £100 depending on the shop — and libraries lend the books for nothing.