The London Scene

Take a stroll through London with Virginia Woolf as your guide in this beautifully illustrated book.

Virginia Woolf relished any opportunity for a stroll around London. She found great pleasure in observing the city and its people - noticing the subtle details that others often miss. In this collection of stunning essays, Woolf gives us an intimate tour of her beloved hometown. We venture through unfamiliar pockets of London and revisit its most famous landmarks; we smell the salty air of the East End docks and hear the echoing sounds inside the Houses of Parliament; Woolf transports us to the bustle of Oxford Street and the more peaceful moments on Hampstead Heath.

Originally published bi-monthly in 1931 by
Good Housekeeping, the essays in
The London Scene exhibit Virginia Woolf at the height of her literary powers and present an unparalleled and meditative portrait of an extraordinary metropolis - capturing the London of the 1930s and also the eternal city we recognise today.

'While it might not list the hottest restaurants and the newest boutique hotels,
The London Scene gives us an amalgam of intelligence and beauty that few, if any, guidebooks provide.' -
Francine Prose
'1930s London comes alive in these six evocative essays . . . a discerning, affectionate tour of her beloved city.' -
Washington Post