What I’ve read: Johnson’s Life of London

I’m not sure why, but I really like Boris Johnson, Mayor of London (the greater metropolitan area of London that is), and with only one objection, I really enjoyed his Life of London: The People Who Made the City That Made the World.

As the title suggests, the chapters are devoted to people who have put their stamp on the city, or in the case of Boudica, queen of the Iceni, did her best to stamp out the city. Other names include Hadrian, Alfred the Great, Chaucer, Dick Whittington (my favorite chapter), Shakespeare, Robert Hooke (a seriously weird man), Samuel Johnson (who Mayor Johnson calls the first compassionate conservative), John Wilkes, Winston Churchill and finally Keith Richards, my one objection. It’s not that I disagree with Johnson’s contention that rock ’n’ roll changed London and London changed rock ’n’ roll, it’s just that I fundamentally don’t find the modern story as compelling.

However Johnson remains compelling, even though as a conservative, I am probably at odds with his philosophy, but my husband reminds me he’s a British conservative, which is a whole other kettle of fish. There’s something oddly attractive about this man who remains pudgy despite cycling to work and who seems to have a hairstyle only one degree less bizarre than Donald Trump’s. And there’s definitely something endearing about his love for London. It’s a very good quick read with a very entertaining cast of characters.