‘I am going to write every single day and tell you about my life here in Spitalfields at the heart of London . . .‘

Drawing comparisons with Pepys, Mayhew and Dickens, the gentle author of Spitalfields Life has gained an extraordinary following in recent years, by writing hundreds of lively pen portraits of the infinite variety of people who live and work in the East End of London.

Everything you seek in London can be found in this book – street life, street art, markets, diverse food, immigrant culture, ancient houses and history, pageants and parades, rituals and customs, traditional trades and old family businesses. Spend a night in the bakery at St John with baker Justin Piers Gellatly, ride the rounds with Kevin Read the Spitalfields milkman, drop into the Golden Heart for a pint with landlady Sandra Esqulant, meet Paul Gardner the fourth-generation paper-bag seller, Steve Brooker the mudlark who discovers treasure in the Thames, Bill Crome the window cleaner who sees ghosts and Alan Hughes the master bell-founder whose business started in 1570. In these pages, you can join the bunny girls for their annual reunion at The Grapes, visit the wax sellers of Wentworth Street and the curry chefs of Brick Lane, and discover the site of Shakespeare’s first theatre in Shoreditch.

All of human life is here in Spitalfields Life.

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Latest news:

A very special invitation from the gentle author:

More than a year ago, I promised to invite you – dear readers – to a wonderful party in Spitalfields to meet all the infinite variety of people that you have been reading about in these pages, and now it is time to issue that glorious invitation. On the evening of Friday 2nd March 2012, please join me in Nicholas Hawksmoor’s towering masterpiece of Christ Church, Spitalfields at a gathering to celebrate the people of Spitalfields, as we launch this book of their stories into the world.

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Key reviews:

The book we have all been waiting for published 1st March 2012 @TheFoodieBugle

Sam Johnson would have said, ‘If you aren’t reading Spitalfields Life, you are tired of life’ etc. It’s wondrous @skdadl

And what a treasure trove of a blog Spitalfields Life from @thegentleauthor is @cultureandstuff

Spitalfields Life is a barricade against the tide of cultural amnesia @DrMatthewSweet