Editions

Curiocity

  • Imprint: Penguin

  • ISBN: 9780141980799

  • Length: 464  Pages

  • Dimensions: 262mm x 34mm x 185mm

  • Weight: 1472g

  • RRP: £22.00

Curiocity

  • An Alternative A-Z of London

'The most ingenious, informative, inimitable, individual, innovative, insightful, inspiring, instructive, intelligible, intoxicating, intricate guide to the great city that I have ever seen. Bravo!' Philip Pullman

'A glorious and delightful compendium and guide to London from Above, Below and all the in-betweens' Neil Gaiman

Curiocity is a London book unlike any other. Its 26 chapters weave together facts, myths, stories, riddles, essays, diagrams, illustrations and itineraries to explore every aspect of life in the capital. At the heart of each chapter is a hand-drawn map, charting everything from thecity's islands and underground spaces, to its erogenous zones and dystopian futures. Taking you from Atlas to Zones, via Congestion, Folkmoot, Pearls and Xenophilia, Curiocity will transform the way you see London.

'The greatest book about London published in modern times ... an illuminated manuscript for the 21st century city' Londonist

'Here is something different ... the literary equivalent of Sir John Soane's Museum ... quite breathtaking' The Times Literary Supplement

'Remarkable ... a nerdy Londoner's paradise ... an exquisite 450-page cross between an encyclopaedia and an artwork' Evening Standard

'Utterly extraordinary' Tom Holland

'However well you think you know London, you will discover something newon virtually every page, and the things you know well will be seen completely differently' The London Society

  • Imprint: Penguin

  • ISBN: 9780141980799

  • Length: 464  Pages

  • Dimensions: 262mm x 34mm x 185mm

  • Weight: 1472g

  • RRP: £22.00

Reviews

  • The most ingenious, insightful, inspiring, intoxicating, and simply interesting guide to the great city that I have ever seen

    Philip Pullman

  • Remarkable ... a nerdy Londoner's paradise ... an exquisite 450-page cross between an encyclopaedia and an artwork

    Evening Standard

  • The greatest book about London published in modern times ... an illuminated manuscript for the 21st century city

    Londonist

  • London's bookshops and libraries are filled with printed guides to the city but few (if any) are as comprehensive as Curiocity

    Creative Review

  • An endlessly fascinating guide to London ... an eccentric lexical juggernaut ... I doubt that anything of such crazy magnitude will be attempted again in a hurry

    Evening Standard

  • A glorious and delightful compendium and guide to London from Above, Below and all the in-betweens

    Neil Gaiman

  • Here is something different [...] composed of fresh flashes of insight [...] constructed as a cabinet of curiosities, the literary equivalent of Sir John Soane's Museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields. The work [the authors] have put into it is formidable, the collaboration they have won from contributors, illustrators and publishers quite breathtaking.

    Times Literary Supplement

  • The authors' delight in London trivia is infectious

    Guardian

  • A great walk for the senses

    Iain Sinclair

  • Utterly extraordinary

    Tom Holland

More from this Author

About the Author

Henry Eliot

Henry Eliot is the Creative Editor of Penguin Classics. Before joining Penguin he organized various literary tours, including a mass public pilgrimage for the National Trust (inspired by William Morris), a recreation of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales which raised money for the National Literacy Trust, a Lake Poets tour of Cumbria and a quest for the Holy Grail based on Malory's Morte D'Arthur. He is the author of Follow This Thread and Curiocity (with Matt Lloyd-Rose).

Henry Eliot

Matt Lloyd-Rose

Henry Eliot and Matt Lloyd-Rose are old friends and Curiocity is their first book. Henry has led cheese walks in London, written a book about mazes called Follow This Thread, and he is the creative editor of Penguin Classics. Matt Lloyd-Rose has been a primary teacher, police officer and social researcher in London. He wrote this book while living in Buenos Aires.

Matt Lloyd-Rose

Read more

/content/dam/prh/articles/adults/2019/december/Article_Card_make_time_to_read_the_classics.jpg

Features

How to make time to read the classics

If the thought of starting a book with over a thousand pages feels slightly daunting then our Penguin Classics Editor, Henry Eliot shares his creative tips to see you through to the last word.
/content/dam/prh/articles/archive/Classic_Mazes_Snippet-788x306px.jpg

Recommendations

8 literary mazes to explore

Henry Eliot, author of Follow This Thread, shares a selection of literary mazes to get lost in from Ovid to Jorge Luis Borges

Our Use of Cookies

We use cookies on this site to enable certain parts of the site to function and to collect information about your use of the site so that we can improve our visitors’ experience.

For more on our cookies and changing your settings click here

Strictly Necessary

Strictly Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions. See More.

Analytics

Analytics cookies help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. These cookies may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. See More.

Preferences & Features

Preference and Feature cookies allow our website to remember choices you make, such as your language preferences and any customisations you make to pages on our website during your visit. See More.

Targeting / Advertising

Targeting cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you and your interests. They perform functions like preventing the same content from reappearing, ensuring ads are displayed and, in some cases, selecting content based on your interests. See More.