Book Review: London Quiz By Travis Elborough And Nick Rennison

M@
By M@ Last edited 161 months ago
Book Review: London Quiz By Travis Elborough And Nick Rennison

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'How well do you know London?' enquires the cover. Pretty well, we'd like to think. But after working our way through the 400 questions in this portable treasure trove, we realise we're still paddling on the foreshore while a great Thames of trivia lays undiscovered before us.

Travis Elborough (author of tribute to the Routemaster, The Bus We Loved) and Nick Rennison (compiler of The Book of Lists: London) are admirably qualified quizmasters. Herein, they present 20 themed sections of Londony questions that would make Peter Ackroyd wheeze. Some examples:

Which infamous American has a memorial in the crypt of St Mary's Battersea?
  • Which romantic poet was once found sleepwalking in Leicester Square?
  • Who opened an ophthalmic practice in Upper Wimpole Street in 1891?
  • It helps that there are three multiple choice answers to every question, but not a lot. This is a quiz more fiendish than a game of Monopoly between Sherlock Holmes and Guy Fawkes at the centre of Hampton Court Maze. It's also highly addictive, and you'll learn plenty from the well-explained answers. The perfect stocking filler for anyone who thinks they know London.

    London Quiz By Travis Elborough And Nick Rennison is out now from The Little Book Room.

    Fact fans: you'll be pleased to hear that our Friday quiz returns next week after a summer break. Watch this space.

    Last Updated 29 October 2010