Heart of London

Morton captures something essential about London - the rhythm of its streets, the ghosts of its history, the particular quality of light on a foggy morning. These essays, originally written as newspaper columns for The Daily Express, are love letters to a city that refuses to be pinned down. He walks the old streets that still bear their medieval names, pauses at churches where Wren's spires rise above the rooftops, listens to the particular music of London voices. This is London before the Blitz changed everything, preserved in prose that feels both intimate and reverent. The essays work as time capsules, capturing a moment in the city's life that could never be repeated. For readers who want to feel they are walking London's streets themselves, or who believe a city can be as endlessly fascinating as any novel, Morton proves his point on every page.