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London: a Novel: Edward Rutherfurd

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When speaking of long tomes-historical fiction Edward Rutherfurd is King. He has his own recipe, no different than Ken Follet, Philippa Gregory or Hilary Martel, but he is in a league of his own, an unsurpassed master storyteller, unpretentious and erudite. Edward Rutherford writes mammoth books where the central character is a place and the people in them are incidental and used to drive the plot across a given time period (usually several thousand years). It is a formula that has worked well and gained critical and popular acclaim. ‘London’ is the third such novel of his I have read; the other two are ‘Sarum’ and ‘The Forest’.

Edward Rutherfurd

Rutherfurd, having celebrated at some length the growth of an English cathedral town (Sarum, 1987) and the turbulent history of Russia (Russka, 1991), offers a massive survey in fictional form of London's long history. Like the work of his likely inspiration, James Michener, Rutherfurd's novels are distinguished by admirable research and a propulsive plot. This latest follows the growth of London from its origins as a Celtic encampment through its emergence as the Roman capital in Britain and on to its long climb to preeminence as England's (and, for a time, the world's) greatest city. Interwoven with the private (and rather melodramatic) adventures of a half-dozen families over a 2,000-year span are most of the events that shaped England (from the Norman invasion up to the Battle of Britain).'

En este caso (y que los ingleses no londinenses me perdonen), la historia de Londres se superpone a la Historia de la isla, y es una buena escusa para darle un buen repaso. También vamos asistiendo al desarrollo de la ciudad, con sus épocas de esplendor o decadencia, a su desarrollo urbanístico y haciendo especial hincapié en los hechos históricos más relevantes, que en ella acaecieron. El libro es ameno (no deja de ser un "tocho" de casi 1200 págs), los personajes son interesantes, así que, desde mi punto de vista merece la pena. La idea tenía su atractivo: contar la historia de Londres a través de los descendientes de varias generaciones. Pero una historia tan larga finalmente hace que los personajes sean prácticamente intercambiables y genéricos. Totalmente faltos de desarrollo y profundidad, entran y salen de la historia sin dejar una impresión duradera y se olvidan a los pocos párrafos. Hardcover. Condition: Near fine copy. First Edition. 233 x 152mm, dark blue cloth, spine lettered & ruled in gilt, pp/[xvi] 832, dark greyish blue endpapers. Small abraded patch on front free endpaper, otherwise a fine copy in fine unclipped pictorial dustwrapper with illustration by Steve Rawlings. This book weighs more than 1 kilo. Originally published on the sixth of April in 2000, this was another standalone novel from the British author, once again spanning a vast number of years. With his now trademarked epic scope as before, it manages to recapture an accuracy and sense of character which shows a master clearly at the top of his game. Whilst the style and the tone are dramatic in nature, it’s not inaccessible either, as it allows the reader to jump in easily, getting lost in the narrative. Hold-your-breath suspense, buccaneering adventure, and passionate tales of love and war.” — The Times (London)

London by Edward Rutherfurd | Goodreads

Lazy and engrossing way to read History.Salt and pepper sprinklingl of anecdote and humour keeps the reader chipping along. a b Pimentel, Ben. "Sloan Graduates Take the Road Less Traveled". Stanford Graduate School of Business . Retrieved 5 March 2016. Tod, Mary (2013). "Edward Rutherfurd talks Paris, the creative process and the ebb and flow of historical fiction with Mary Tod". Historical Novel Society . Retrieved 5 March 2016. Then there's the fabric of London itself, the persistence of landmarks and street patterns... Coins or artefacts stolen or lost in one chronicle raise the reader's expectations that they might be recovered in another, at a later date... UPDATE: An author certainly can't cover every historical event concerning London in a single volume, or perhaps even in a series of volumes. However, to me. Rutherford completely skips over a vital part of London's history, a cultural one that had a worldwide impact perhaps as much of an impact as other issues. Before laughing out loud, here me out: the world is still reeling from the impact of London's "Swinging 60's": things such as fashion, the sexual revolution, music, films, class, etc. When I was a child, there were two places: North Carolina and London (Agatha Christie, the Beatles, and haircuts, etc.) I did enjoy "London" but I gotta take one star away from my original five-star review.Historical figures, such as Julius Caesar, Geoffrey Chaucer, Henry VIII, William Shakespeare, and Pocahontas, make appearances alongside fictional characters and historical kings and queens of England. At the end of the Wars of the Roses, London had perhaps fifty thousand people; by Elizabeth’s last years, four times that number. Encuadernación de tapa dura. Condition: Muy bien. Sin Sobrecubierta. 1ª Edición. Titulo original: London. Traducción: Camila Batlles. Los gastos de envío son calculados para un peso inferior a 1kg, superándose este peso le informaremos de los gastos de envío adicionales.

London: The Novel - Kindle edition by Rutherfurd, Edward London: The Novel - Kindle edition by Rutherfurd, Edward

I suggest reading this book for more of the historical facts than any sort of story-telling. As a history of London (and England) it's nice in that it's not too dry and involves a little bit of fictional aspects. However, the fact that the characters change every couple of chapters (as the narrative jumps forward in time) hurts the flow of the story and stops you from developing any sort of attachment to the characters. Really, who cares if a character gets what they want, achieves their dreams, are the good guy/bad guy, when you know that in the next chapter you'll jump ahead to their descendents where their circumstances might have completely changed?? The story covers major points of British history. The following chapter listing parallels major periods and events:

Spigel, Barbara. "``London`` A Remarkable Tale of a Great City". University Libraries, Virginia Tech . Retrieved 21 February 2008.

London (Audio Download): Edward Rutherfurd, Andrew Wincott London (Audio Download): Edward Rutherfurd, Andrew Wincott

La principal pega que le pondría a esta novela son los personajes. La inmensa mayoría son muy planos y absolutamente olvidables. Esto es entendible teniendo en cuenta que son más de 2000 años de historia comprimidos en 1180 páginas, y que cuando consigues acordarte de quién es quién dentro de una generación, ya te pasa a la siguiente. Y claro, entiendo que sea difícil desarrollar tantos personajes en tan poco tiempo. Al principio y con esa justificación lo dejaba estar, pero cuando llevas más o menos la mitad del libro empieza a molestarte un poco, porque no deja de ser una novela y los personajes son una parte fundamental. Personalmente el personaje que más me ha interesado de todos ha sido Violet y por toda su vinculación con las suffragettes. Vanessa Montfort and Edward Rutherfurd, recipients of the XI International Historical Novel Prize "City of Zaragoza" ". Zaragoza City Council News. 20 May 2006 . Retrieved 5 March 2016. Fascinantan je pokušaj, praviti priču o jednom gradu tako što ćete jahati kroz čitav njegov dveivišehiljadagodina dug život, prateći istoriju kako izmišljenih književnih junaka, porodica i loza, tako i stvarnih istorijskih ličnosti, i načina na koji su ga gradili, rušili, palili i sa njim bistvovali svo vreme, usputno držeći besprekorne mini časove istorije i koristeći široko dostupnu dokumentarnu građu tako da knjigu zaista sa pravom možete zvati i romanom i istorijskim spisom.And he pulls off some remarkable effects. Typical of them a description of a Puritan character named O Be Joyful Carpenter listening to the chiming of London's bells:

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