Literary Road Map of Islington

Celebrate our borough's long, rich heritage of authors, screenwriters, poets and writers who live or work here

Literary Road Map of Islington celebrates our borough’s long, rich heritage of authors, screenwriters, poets and writers who have lived here, and the literary works which have been inspired by or set here.

Search the list below to see the novels, plays and poems which were written about Islington and the authors, such as Andrea Levy (1956-2019), who were born or lived in the borough, or Charles Dickens (1812-1870, who used various locations around Islington in their novels.

Also, look at our interactive map to see the literary connections to your area of Islington. To do this click on ‘Show Layers’, ‘Recreation & Leisure’ and check the ‘Literary Road Map’ box.

 

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  • Non-fiction

Ward, Edward

1667-1731

Islington Wells (1691), Walk to Islington (1699). He wrote about “New Tunbridge Wells and Sadler’s Musick House” and was a publican in Red Bull Yard (now Aylesbury Street) in 1712.

Watts, Isaac

1674-1748

Logick: or, the Right use of Reason in the Enquiry After Truth (1726)

The minister, logician, poet and hymn writer’s work was buried in Bunhill Fields. His work on logic was the standard text on the subject for over 100 years. He published over 600 hymns including many that remain as standard.

Wollstonecraft, Mary

1759-1797

A Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792) and other titles. The writer, teacher and feminist, opened a school for girls at Newington Green in 1784. [NF]