Standing in the busy streets of South London today, it is hard to imagine that much of this suburban townscape was once a vast wood, stretching unbroken for almost seven miles from Croydon to the Thames at Deptford. In The Wood That Built London, C.J. Schuler takes us on a journey through time, telling tales of invaders and trade guilds, map makers and soldiers, royals and working class people. From the 8th century to current conservation efforts, Schuler offers a fresh perspective on London's history, with tales of murder, Anglo-Saxon treasure, fires, pandemics, the blitz and more along the way. This compelling narrative history charts the fortunes of the North Wood from the earliest times: its ecology, ownership, management, and its gradual encroachment by the expanding metropolis.

Rodinsky's world was that of the East European Jewry, cabbalistic speculation, an obsession with language as code and terrible loss. He touched the imagination of artist Rachel Lichtenstein, whose grandparents had left Poland in the 1930s. This text weaves together Lichtenstein's quest for Rodinsky - which took her to Poland, to Israel and around Jewish London - with Iain Sinclair's meditations on her journey into her own past and on the Whitechapel he has reinvented in his own writing. Rodinsky's Room is a testament to a world that has all but vanished, a homage to a unique culture and way of life.

Diamond Street is Rachel Lichtenstein's fascinating account of London's Hatton Garden. Enter Hatton Garden, one of London's most mysterious streets. Home to ancient burial sites, diamond workshops, underground vaults, monastic dynasties, subterranean rivers and forgotten palaces. Here you'll meet sewer flushers, artists, goldsmiths, geologists and visionaries as Rachel Lichtenstein uncovers the history, secrets and stories that bring this vibrant Clerkenwell street and its environs to life. Praise for Diamond Street: 'Diamond Street is a brilliant and moving book, intricate in its form and fabulous in its curiosity. It is poised somewhere between deep history, archaeological dig, archive-quest and contemporary documentary, and it is suffused throughout with Rachel Lichtenstein's fascination with people and place -- a fascination which approaches a moral quality, really, in its tenderness, diligence and cultural openness' Robert Macfarlane, author of The Old Ways 'Fascinating. The great joy of Lichtenstein's books is that she encourages us to look again at the places we take for granted' Daily Telegraph 'Vivid and amusing, containing so many sparkling things, elegantly organized. Lichtenstein consulted a whole gang of glorious characters, collecting tales, history and lore on her way. An overwhelming trove of stories with a multiplicity of facets to intrigue' Observer 'Engrossing, a superb oral historian. Lichtenstein proves to be an indefatigable explorer' Sunday Times 'Lichtenstein is an artist, writer, local historian and archivist and her multi-faceted approach makes fascinating reading. She make[s] us look with a fresh eye at familiar urban spaces' Independent on Sunday 'Lichtenstein has brought alive something of London . . . how one street can be a kind of Tardis, a portal to another world of parallel commerce, codes, rituals, history. A heartfelt book full of curiosity and love' The Times 'A lively and rewarding addition to the capital's rich history' Independent Rachel Lichtenstein is an artist and writer. She is the co-author, with Iain Sinclair, of Rodinsky's Room and the author, most recently, of On Brick Lane.

Brick Lane today is a place of extremes - a street that's constantly reinventing itself. Blending history and reportage with personal testimony and urban myths, and interspersing these with maps and photography, On Brick Lane is a one-of-a-kind chronicle of one of London's most remarkable streets. Bringing to life the memories and realities of Brick Lane's many communities, Rachel Lichtenstein harnesses the voices of the famous, the infamous and the obscure, merging memoir, reportage, poetry, photography and local history. The result is as vibrant and fascinating as the neighbourhood it so movingly celebrates.

LONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2017 A hauntingly beautiful social history of the Thames Estuary, from the author of On Brick Lane Out at the eastern edge of England, between land and ocean, you will find beautiful, haunted salt marshes, coastal shallows and wide-open skies: the Thames Estuary. The estuary is an ancient gateway to England, a passage for numberless travellers in and out of London. And for generations, the people of Kent and Essex have lived and worked on the Estuary, learning its waters, losing loved ones to its deeps. Their heritage is a proud but never an easy one. In the face of a world changing around them, they endure. Rachel Lichtenstein spent five years exploring this unique community and recording its extraordinary chorus of voices, present and past. From mud larkers and fishermen to radio pirates and champion racers, from buried princesses to unexploded bombs, Estuary is a celebration of a haunting & profoundly British place.