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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Heller, Zoe

1965-

Notes on a Scandal (2003). The narrator of the book, Barbara Covett, lives in Archway and works at St George’s, a fictional local secondary school.

Herron, Mick

1963-

Slough House Series (2010-) Jackson Lamb works in Slough House, an “administrative oubliette” for disgraced MI5 operatives situated in Aldersgate Street in the former Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury.

Heywood, Thomas

c1574-1641

A Woman Killed with Kindness (c.1603). Heywood was the resident playwright at the Red Bull Theatre, which was based in what is now Haywood’s Place. He was living in Clerkenwell at the time of his death.

Higgins, Charlotte

1972-

Under Another Sky: Journeys in Roman Britain (2013) and other titles. The author, journalist and chief culture writer for the Guardian lives in Islington.

Holland, Tom

(1968-)

Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic (2003) and other titles. The writer and historian lived at 47 Loraine Road in 1995.

Higson, Charlie

1958-

The Enemy series (2009-). Islington features throughout Higson’s post-apocalyptic, young adult horror series.

Hollis, J S

A Rational Man (2018). The book is set in Islington in the near-future, where Sebastian grows up on the current site of Pentonville Prison.

Holyoake, George Jacob

1817-1906

History of Co-operation in England (1875). The newspaper editor coined the terms “secularism” and “jingoism”. Lived at 62 Pentonville Road.

Hornby, Nick

1957-

Fever Pitch (1992), High Fidelity (1995), About A Boy (1998) and other titles. Hornby lives in Highbury and sets much of his work around the area.

Horowitz, Anthony

1955 -

The House of Silk (2011). Sherlock Holmes escapes from Holloway Prison.

Hoban, Russell

1925-2011

My Tango with Barbara Strozzi (2007). The protagonist, Phil Ockerman, falls in love with Bertha Strunk at a tango lesson in Clerkenwell.

Hoeben, Cato

1980-

The Lifestyle Entrepreneur: How to Turn Your Interests into Money (2015). Written with his mother and Angela Neustatter. Lived in Highbury Place and now in Cross Street.