The Hidden World of Hatton Garden

Diamond Street

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.

Rachel Lichtenstein is the author of Estuary as well as Rodinsky's Room (co-authored with Iain Sinclair), Rodinsky's Whitechapel, Keeping Pace, A Little Dust Whispered, On Brick Lane, and Diamond Street. She trained as a sculptor, and has exhibited her work in several British and international venues, including the Whitechapel Gallery, the Barbican, the British Library, Woodstreet Galleries in Pittsburgh in the USA, and the Jerusalem Theatre in Israel. From 2002 to 2004, she was the British Library's first Pearson Creative Research Fellow.

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. 
 
'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

On Brick Lane

The true story of one of the most famous, fashionable and fascinating streets in London

A collage of beady-eyed topographical study, family history and oral testimony&hellip; an intriguing, vivid memorial

&hellip;a comprehensive, deeply researched portrait of the street&hellip; affectionate, absorbing

Brick Lane today is a place of extremes &ndash; 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.

Rachel Lichtenstein

Publisher's description.  An immersive journey through the weird and haunting spaces of the Thames Estuary. Rachel Lichtenstein presents an extraordinary chorus of voices, from mudlarkers and fishermen to radio pirates and champion racers, capturing the incredibly diverse community of people who live and work in this ancient, wild and mesmerising place.

Rachel Lichtenstein's electrifying exploration of the estuary

The Thames Estuary changes constantly.  How do you make such a landscape comprehensible, and how do you render it vividly for the reader?  Lichtenstein's outstanding book shows how it should be done.

Out from London to the Sea

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 &amp; profoundly British place.

Rachel Lichtenstein

Praise for Estuary

Publisher's description. An immersive journey through the weird and haunting spaces of the Thames Estuary. Rachel Lichtenstein presents an extraordinary chorus of voices, from mudlarkers and fishermen to radio pira ...

Rachel Lichtenstein's electrifying exploration of the estuary

The Thames Estuary changes constantly. How do you make such a landscape comprehensible, and how do you render it vividly for the reader? Lichtenstein's outstanding book shows how it should be done.

Publisher's description. An immersive journey through the weird and haunting spaces of the Thames Estuary. Rachel Lichtenstein presents an extraordinary chorus of voices, from mudlarkers and fishermen to radio pira ...

Rachel Lichtenstein's electrifying exploration of the estuary

The Thames Estuary changes constantly. How do you make such a landscape comprehensible, and how do you render it vividly for the reader? Lichtenstein's outstanding book shows how it should be done.

Publisher's description. An immersive journey through the weird and haunting spaces of the Thames Estuary. Rachel Lichtenstein presents an extraordinary chorus of voices, from mudlarkers and fishermen to radio pira ...

Rachel Lichtenstein's electrifying exploration of the estuary

The Thames Estuary changes constantly. How do you make such a landscape comprehensible, and how do you render it vividly for the reader? Lichtenstein's outstanding book shows how it should be done.

Books by Rachel Lichtenstein

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