Shakespeare's Pub
A Barstool History of London as Seen Through the Windows of Its Oldest Pub - The George Inn
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
A history of Britain told through the story of one very special pub, from "The Beer Drinker's Bill Bryson" (Times Literary Supplement)
Welcome to the George Inn near London Bridge; a cosy, wood-paneled, galleried coaching house a few minutes' walk from the Thames. Grab yourself a pint, listen to the chatter of the locals and lean back, resting your head against the wall. And then consider this: who else has rested their head against that wall, over the last six hundred years?
Chaucer and his fellow pilgrims almost certainly drank in the George on their way out of London to Canterbury. It's fair to say that Shakespeare popped in from the nearby Globe for a pint, and we know that Dickens certainly did. Mail carriers changed their horses here, before heading to all four corners of Britain—while sailors drank here before visiting all four corners of the world.
The pub, as Pete Brown points out, is the 'primordial cell of British life' and in the George he has found the perfect example. All life is here, from murderers, highwaymen, and ladies of the night to gossiping peddlers and hard-working clerks. So sit back with Shakespeare's Pub and watch as buildings rise and fall over the centuries, and 'the beer drinker's Bill Bryson' (UK's Times Literary Supplement) takes us on an entertaining tour through six centuries of history, through the stories of everyone that ever drank in one pub.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This rich paean to the venerable George Inn the last remaining pre-Reformation coaching inn crackles with literary wit, history, and pop culture. Londoner Brown (Man Walks Into a Pub), who is clearly well versed in the top shelves of bars and libraries, combines his personal knowledge of the place with plenty of research in this light-hearted yet informative portrait of the public house and the centuries of history that have trammeled through and past its doors. While Shakespeare receives dubious top billing it isn't clear whether he actually ever visited the pub Brown runs through a host of other famous patrons, like Charles Dickens and a partying Princess Margaret, as well as the pub's proprietors, including the incorrigible Agnes Murray, who ran the inn in the 1920s and famously charged Winston Churchill a corking fee for bringing his own port. But this isn't just a "barstool history" of the goings-on inside the George Brown also offers a rousing take on the growth of the city outside. Despite the misleading title and occasional detours into the minutiae of historical records and beer trivia, this remains an entertaining tribute to the influence and staying power of a pub "the primordial cell of British life." B&w photos throughout.
Customer Reviews
Best Book On Subject
It may really be the only real, modern book on the The George, but it is terrific. Not only has the research been done really well but it is extremely funny. I'd love to read his other books. Get on it IBooks!