Esta arrolladora novela cuenta dos milenios de historia de una de las ciudades más fascinantes del mundo: Londres. Desde la fundación de un pequeño asentamiento celta a los bombardeos de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, pasando por la invasión por parte de las legiones de César en el año 54 a.D, las Cruzadas, la conquista normanda, la creación del teatro Globe en el que Shakespeare estrenaría sus obras, las tensiones religiosas, el Gran Incendio, la época victoriana... cientos de historias mezclan a personajes realies y ficticios, perteneientes a unas pocas sagas familiares que se perpetúan a través de los siglos. Cada episorio de London, profuso en detalles históricos, revela la riqueza, la pasión, el brío y la lucha por sobrevivir de una ciudad única.
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Like his aesthetic mentor, James Michener, Rutherfurd (Russka; Sarum) takes readers from primordial days to the present; here he focuses on the last 2000 years of humanity on the island kingdom as manifested through the fortunes of seven families and one ancient, ever-evolving city. Such chapter headings as "The Tower," "Hampton Court" and "The Globe" reveal Rutherfurd's primary techniqueto create verbal dioramas that, alas, too often feel as static and didactic as museum displays. Rutherfurd lavishes his greatest attention on the minor figures in English history rather than the greats. Instead of Shakespeare there is Edmund Meredith, playwright of the middling The Blackamoor; instead of Christopher Wren, there is a cowardly, anti-papist woodcarver; and there is Isaac Fleming, creator of the wedding cake. Due to the sheer scope of Rutherfurd's vision, many signal events, such as the Black Death, are afforded only a glancing nod, while the first and final chapters read more like a mannerly BBC documentary than a proper setup for a legend on a grand scale. Rutherfurd's workmanlike narrative ultimately buckles under the weight of its own vast scale, yet readers will savor individual tidbits like the snapshot of young Geoffrey Chaucer saving an abandoned baby. Readers with imagination may even come away with the sense that great cities aren't just places but living beings with hearts and souls. Major ad/promo; BOMC main selection; simultaneous Random House audio; author tour. (June)
Library Journal
As evidenced by his previous historical novels, Russka (LJ 9/1/91) and Sarum (LJ 9/15/87), Rutherfurd does not flinch at a challenge. Wrap up 2000 years in an 800-page book? No problem. This all-encompassing fictional history of London is told through the experiences of a group of diverse families who, over the generations, meet, mingle, intermarry, and feud. Beginning with prehistory and continuing to the present, Rutherfurd combines geological details, historical events, real people, and his fictional characters to bring London to life. The writing veers from the mundane to the didactic, and readers would be well advised to list the characters as they encounter them. Rutherfurd's whirlwind historical tour is an appropriate purchase for all collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/97.]Nancy Pearl, Washington Ctr. for the Book, Seattle
School Library Journal
YA--Certainly not for the fainthearted, this 800+ page novel on the history of London is true to the author's form. Rutherford so skillfully weaves detailed fiction and fact that YAs may have to head for the reference books to verify which is which. Basically, the story is London's evolution from a trading post to the seat of an Empire and the families who lived that history. Through the adventures and everyday lives of these characters, one can go to Shakespeare's Globe Theater, tend the plague patients with Dr. Richard Meredith, attend hangings at Newgate Prison, weep at the loss of life and limb due to "God's fire," visit the taverns with Chaucer and his pilgrims, and have other experiences in this exciting city. A special book for readers who have a burning interest in history and the stick-to-itiveness to finish and reflect on it. A perfect choice for the summer hiatus or winter holidays.--Carol Clark, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Kirkus Reviews
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). These incidents tend to be announced portentously ("England's great Peasant Revolt had begun") and the characters, to fill in the historical background, sometimes offer speeches packed with an alarming (and unlikely) amount of information. There are obligatory cameos by everyone from Shakespeare to Dickens. Still, this is a vigorous, colorful narrative, a pleasant if unsurprising entertainment.
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