 Cover of 2014 reprint | |
| Author | Ian Nairn |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Penguin Books |
Publication date | 1966 (reprinted 1967, 2002, and 2014 / revised ed. 1988) |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Pages | 280 |
| ISBN | 0141396164 |
| OCLC | 1056014966 |
Nairn's London is a 1966 book about the architecture of London. It is authored by British writer Ian Nairn and this is the work for which he is the best known.[1] Architecture critic Jonathan Meades has praised the work as an "imperious mongrel: part vade-mecum, part polemic, part poetic contemplation, part deflected autobiography and part conversation with himself – wholly original" and "the testament of a man steeped in London".[2]
Nairn himself described it as a "personal list of the best things in London" and a "record of what has moved me between Uxbridge and Dagenham."[3]: 13-14 Nairn's London drifted in and out of print in the decades following its publication but became a cult classic.[4] It was regularly recommended by American film critic Roger Ebert to students seeking to improve their prose, and he wrote an introduction for the book in a 2002 printing. Ebert, however, had to caveat his recommendation with an acknowledgement that it was, at that time, difficult to obtain a copy.[5]
That relative scarcity continued until the 2010s, with high prices for second-hand copies. Since 2013, there has been a major revival of interest in Nairn and his work, leading to a 2014 reprinting of Nairn's London by the book's publisher, Penguin Books.[6]
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