Noting its commemoration back in May of the 50th anniversary of the TV sitcom Are You Being Served? (which was based on Simpsons of Piccadilly), the Oldie now notes with appreciation the publication of London’s Lost Department Stores.
Ian Jack: 1945-2022
Ian Jack, who has died, was one of the greatest journalists of his generation; a modern Orwell, no less - endlessly curious, pensive, humane, and a peerless prose writer, as readers of his Guardian column in recent years will have been well aware. He was also the nicest man.
But Ian also played a crucial part in the fortunes of Safe Haven. When London’s Street Trees was published in 2017, Ian was the first to appreciate the interest of what was then a subject far out in left field. Not only did he devote his Guardian column to it - the first publicity the book received, and in the perfect place - but, customarily, he also prepared by doing his research: proper research, as old-school journalists always used to. He invited Paul Wood, the author, to join him on a walk around their Islington neighbourhood to show him the remarkable variety of its street trees. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Ian catalysed the success of a book that has gone on to become one of Safe Haven’s biggest sellers, and made the imprint’s name.
If you haven’t read The Country Formerly Known as Great Britain, a collection of Ian’s journalism, order it today.
IanVisits reviews London's Lost Department Stores
IanVisits, the perennially popular website on London life, has given London’s Lost Department Stores a long and enthusiastic review. ‘It’s a gloriously nostalgic look at the grand old days of the grand department stores,’ writes Ian, ‘but is in no way a hagiography of them, being very clear about the darker side of working in the department stores.
‘For anyone interested in history’, he goes on, ‘it’s a good mix of the social and architectural history of a lost part of London. However, I suspect that if given as a Christmas present to your parents and grandparents, they will quickly look up a familiar name and sigh in delight at childhood memories of the glamour of their local department store. And spend the entire Christmas lunch talking about it.’
Tessa Boase's feature on London's Lost Department Stores in the Telegraph
Tessa Boase has written an excellent feature, based on her book, in the Telegraph.
London’s Lost Department Stores gets a great review in the Spectator
The 15 October issue of the Spectator carries a long and enthusiastic review of Tessa Boase’s book by Ysenda Maxtone Graham, in which she praises it as a ‘charming book’ and ‘heartbreakingly poignant’, and writes that ‘You’ll need a robust constitution to read this chronicle of the rise, decline and death of the family-run department store without weeping.’
Tessa Boase celebrates publication of London's Lost Department Stores
On Monday, 10 October, Tessa Boase returned to the former Simpsons department store in Piccadilly, now Waterstones’ London flagship, for her own book launch party - but this time to the Fifth Floor, where for the department store’s opening in 1936 no fewer than three aeroplanes were on display, including the Flying Flea, and nowadays there is the smart Fifth View bar, with a fabulous view over the London rooftops.
The Londonist features London's Lost Department Stores
The Londonist website is now carrying an excellent feature based on Tessa Boase’s London’s Lost Department Stores, on ‘10 Old London Department Stores - and What They’re Being Used For Now’.
London's Lost Department Stores launches at the former Simpson Piccadilly
Until the end of the twentieth century the magnificent marble and glass edifice of Simpson Piccadilly housed a glamorous upmarket department store. Nowadays it is Waterstones’s London flagship, and where, on Monday 26 September, London’s Lost Department Stores was launched with a talk by the author, Tessa Boase. Also contributing his reminiscences was William Sieghart, at 16 a Saturday employee at Simpson, and now known for his work in the poetry world, not least as editor of the two Poetry Pharmacy volumes. Even the Waterstones staff in attendance learned plenty about the history of the fabulous Art Deco masterpiece they work in.
Rail Advent gives a great review to Dickens on Railways
The popular railway news website Rail Advent has reviewed Dickens on Railways at great length and with real enthusiasm. ‘Train enthusiasts, fans of Charles Dickens, and anyone who enjoys stories written by someone who has a wonderful command of the English language will enjoy this book,’ it declares, and goes on,
‘The editor, Tony Williams, gives crisp and helpful introductions to the various selections he has chosen from the pen of the great 19th-century author. Dickens’ observations of both the initial days and later dominance of rail traffic in Great Britain are a joy to experience.
In summary, this is an attractive and compact book that will fit neatly inside a rucksack, briefcase, or even a large pocket. It is of interest to anyone who appreciates the work of Dickens, has an interest in railways, or simply enjoys a book that makes full use of the descriptive qualities of the English language. Very highly recommended.’
Tanya Aldred reviews The Nature of Cricket in the Cricketer magazine
With perfect timing for the start of the 2022 county cricket season next week, the new April issue of the Cricketer magazine carries an excellent review of The Nature of Cricket by Guardian cricket correspondent Tanya Aldred, who has previously written about green initiatives being taken by cricket clubs at local level. Describing it as ‘a love letter to nature and how it interacts with the game’, she goes on, ‘The pleasure of Graham Coster’s gem of a book is that he writes about the little things that are actually the big things. It is an appreciation of a game whose indulgence is time - something which gives players, and spectators, the chance to appreciate their natural surroundings, from the red clover underfoot to the red kite gliding above.’