Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
SPECIAL PRICE: Just £9.99 for your next 8 magazines
Subscribe today
Books

Top 5 books set in historic London, selected by author Mike Delaney

From the horrors of war to the difficulties of settling as an immigrant, London's history provides ample subject matter for fiction

Black and white photo of horse bus in trafalgar square

A horse omnibus in Trafalgar Square, c. 1890. Image: Commons CC0

The rich history of London has inspired countless novels, author and therapist Mike Delaney gives us five of his favourites.

The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon

This award-winning novel describes the fictional but authentic experiences of a group of West Indians living in London in the 1950s and tackles issues such as racism, loneliness and belonging, through the eyes of each character.

The Light Over London by Julia Kelly

A captivating story which weaves back and forth between present day and 1940s London. An antiques dealer finds a diary dating back to World War II and is drawn into the story of a young woman who was a gunner girl during the Blitz.

Get the latest news and insight into how the Big Issue magazine is made by signing up for the Inside Big Issue newsletter

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Set in Victorian London, this is a complex story of an orphan filled with deception, betrayal and unexpected twists as she tries to secure her financial future through a swindle. But it doesn’t all go as she had hoped.

Island Songs by Alex Wheatle

A skilfully crafted story depicting the experiences of two Caribbean sisters as they navigate a new life in Brixton, South London, and the various difficulties which their relationship must endure in order to survive.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

The Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton

An emotional story based on true events prior to World War II. Truus Wijsmuller is in the Dutch Resistance and goes to great lengths to help as many Jewish children as she can escape from Nazi Germany, risking her own life in the process.

Mabel Murphy by Mike Delaney is out now (Austin Macauley, £8.99). You can buy some of these titles from The Big Issue shop on Bookshop.org, which helps to support The Big Issue and independent bookshops.

This article is taken from The Big Issue magazine, which exists to give homeless, long-term unemployed and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income. To support our work buy a copy!

If you cannot reach your local vendor, you can still click HERE to subscribe to The Big Issue today or give a gift subscription to a friend or family member. You can also purchase one-off issues

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

READER-SUPPORTED SINCE 1991

Reader-supported journalism that doesn’t just report problems, it helps solve them.

Recommended for you

View all
Top 5 children's books to inspire awe for our universe, chosen by Chloe Savage
Children's books

Top 5 children's books to inspire awe for our universe, chosen by Chloe Savage

Poet Rowan McCabe didn't know his neighbours. So he went door to door writing poems for them
Poetry

Poet Rowan McCabe didn't know his neighbours. So he went door to door writing poems for them

Comedy Samurai by Larry Charles review – the joyous, painful business of making people laugh
Books

Comedy Samurai by Larry Charles review – the joyous, painful business of making people laugh

Bless Me Father by Kevin Rowland review – Dexys lynchpin bares his sensitive soul
Books

Bless Me Father by Kevin Rowland review – Dexys lynchpin bares his sensitive soul

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payments: Where to get help in 2025 now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payments: Where to get help in 2025 now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue