Bookseller Reviews
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A wonderful debut...
I fell in love with Lawrie and Evie , main characters of this wonderful debut.
Lawrie is a new arrival from The Caribbean, answering the call of the mot... READ MORE
I heartily recommend!
Lawrie journeyed to Great Britain on board the Empire Windrush in 1948, one of over a thousand West Indians brought over from Jamaica to help rebuild post-... READ MORE
Evocative excellence
I love books which inform as well as entertain. This Lovely City does this brilliantly. I loved the description of post-war London and the lives of the Win... READ MORE
Essential reading
A beautiful, soaring debut, This Lovely City charts the course of jazz musician Lawrie, newly arrived in London on the Empire Windrush. After being promise... READ MORE
Synopsis
The drinks are flowing. The music is playing. But the party can't last. With the Blitz over and London reeling from war, jazz musician Lawrie Matthews has answered England's call for help. Fresh off the Empire Windrush, he's taken a tiny room in south London lodgings, and has fallen in love with the girl next door. Touring Soho's music halls by night, pacing the streets as a postman by day, Lawrie has poured his heart into his new home - and it's alive with possibility. Until, one morning, he makes a terrible discovery. As the local community rallies, fingers of blame are pointed at those who had recently been welcomed with open arms. And, before long, the newest arrivals become the prime suspects in a tragedy which threatens to tear the city apart. Atmospheric, poignant and compelling, Louise Hare's debut shows that new arrivals have always been the prime suspects. But, also, that there is always hope.
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
- ISBN: 9780008332570
- Number of pages: 400
- Weight: 580g
- Dimensions: 227 x 159 x 36 mm
Customer Reviews
View allTime will avenge all!
Beautifully written. I can not wait to start recommending this book. Great characters, vivid and real with great personalities. Complex themes were touched... READ MORE
Heart Warming / Heart Breaking
Thank you to the publishers for this beautiful hardback early review copy, it was such a delight to receive.
This is a wonderful story set around the time... READ MORE
walk the streets of London with Lawrie and Evie
Many thanks to @HQStories and Netgalley for the early eBook review, I was delighted to receive it!
I loved the book! Lawrie and Evie are absolutely adorabl... READ MORE
This lovely book
This Lovely City....this lovely book!
I adored this book. Likeable but flawed characters that I really felt invested in.
I think the book gives a real i... READ MORE
A novel of the Windrush generation
A fascinating read about the Windrush generation who come to London after the war. In search of a new life, they encounter poverty racism and more. This is... READ MORE
Walk the streets of London with Lawrie and Evie
Many thanks to @HQStories and Netgalley for the early eBook review, I was delighted to receive it!
I loved the book completely. Lawrie and Evie are absolut... READ MORE
Interesting
I got totally caught up in this story. I enjoyed reading it. There are interesting characters and it was fascinating reading about some people’s reactions ... READ MORE
Impactful and a little bit different...
Laurie arrives on the Windrush, having been promised a wonderful new life in London. Of course, the streets are not ‘paved with gold‘ and the newcomers are... READ MORE
An absolutely stunning read and a superb debut novel.
I love being transported back in time and that is exactly where I'm going in This Lovely City. An absolutely stunning read and a superb debut novel, Louise... READ MORE
Will recommend this to everyone, gripping and educational
Released on March 12th 2020, this is definitely going to be a bestseller. It is more than just a fictional story, it educates about those who came over fro... READ MORE
Interesting read
A very different book, set in post war England. I really enjoyed this story. The characters are all well rounded and come alive to the reader , all in all ... READ MORE
Superb and Highly Relevant
A very smart and relevant book which is beautifully written.
One of the Observer’s debut novels of 2020, This Lovely City is well worthy of the plaudits ... READ MORE
A fabulous debut
This fabulous debut is not only great between the pages but it has a cover that just screams “read me.” Part love story, part coming-of-age and part crime ... READ MORE
Atmospheric, affecting and thought-provoking
This fabulous debut is not only great between the pages but it has a cover that just screams “read me.” Part love story, part coming-of-age and part crime ... READ MORE
Brilliant
"This Lovely City" by Louise Hare, is a gripping and engaging story of love, betrayal and friendship. In 1950s London, young Lawrie Matthews, one of recent... READ MORE
Really enjoyed it.
Set in post-war London it follows the lives of Caribbean immigrants who were led to believe England would be welcoming and full of riches, neither of which... READ MORE
An enjoyable and entertaining historical novel
Thanks so much to HQ and NetGalley for letting me read This Lovely City in advance! Oddly enough that was the second book I read in a row set just after th... READ MORE
Brilliant
Laurie has come over to England from Jamaica thinking he would be able to make his fortune only to find that the county that claimed to be so desperate for... READ MORE
Beautifully written and so emotional
This is historical fiction set in London soon after WW2 and is so redolent with atmosphere you can almost smell it.
Lawrie had arrived in London on the sh... READ MORE
Windrush generation novel
Lawrie Matthews arrives in England, part of the first Windrush generation, to make his fortune. He arrives to find a gloomy, broken city still reeling from... READ MORE
An eye opening read
This was a nice book, I enjoyed it for the storyline but more for the insight it gives to the behaviour and mindset of the time, of how intolerant we were ... READ MORE
Tame
This is a story which captures the atmosphere of the times very well, including appropriate language which was used then. The treatment of the Windrush gen... READ MORE
An absolute treat. Highly recommended.
I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of #ThisLovelyCity to read and review via #NetGalley and what a treat I had in store. I read it over one weeken... READ MORE
A moving debut
What a poignant story of love, betrayal, hope and discrimination. The Second World War has ended and as the male workforce has been depleted an invitation ... READ MORE
An essential read for anyone wishing to understand just how difficult it was to become an accepted member of this post-war society.
‘This Lovely City’ could be described as a murder mystery novel but that title alone would be to belie its author’s purpose to educate the reader about the... READ MORE
A unputdownable debut full of heart and hope
I LOVED this novel more than I expected to. Evie and Lawrie are wonderful characters and I was rooting for them as a couple while empathising with them ind... READ MORE
Poignant
A great story about Lawrie who comes to England on the Windrush from Jamaica and his time here. With it's undertones of racial abuse and tragedy, Lawrie, w... READ MORE
Very emotional and moving
What a fantastic debut from Louise Hare. This Lovely City is London, the title being ironic as it follows a group of Windrush immigrants from Jamaica, the ... READ MORE
Commentary on the life of a Windrush immigrant
Lawrie Matthews came over to England on the Empire Windrush, but even two years later, London is still in the grip of austerity following the war. When he... READ MORE
A feel good but obvious read.
Great book, struggled to get into it but when I did I enjoyed it. A little twist to add to the tale, I liked it!
Historical
This is louise hares debut novel and what an amazing debut novel it is.
It's an historical story with loss, grief, murder and mystery all in one.
I went ... READ MORE
Empathetic and insightful story.
This was an empathetic and insightful story of racism in Britain after WW2 when there was an influx of West Indian men into the country. They were invited ... READ MORE
Truly excellent debut novel
I am struggling to believe that this is Louise Hare's debut novel as it is so well written, plotted and the characters feel so human and real. A truly exce... READ MORE
LOVE this book!
I missed my train and stop twice because of this book. Such a captivating read
A brilliant and absorbing read
Lawrie Matthews arrives at Tilbury Docks, as one of the many hopeful men and women who believe they have come to England as British citizens, who would be ... READ MORE
A fantastic debut novel about the Windrush Generation - and so much more!
The only thing I didn’t like about This Lovely City by Louise Hare, were the attitudes of a lot of the (predominantly) white, male Londoners. And there’s n... READ MORE
Loved It!
This story takes you back in time, to London after the blitz. Lawrie Matthews is brought over from Jamaica on the belief of starting a new life where he w... READ MORE
A must read
Wow, I loved this historical fiction, romance, thriller book. It's full of complex characters and is wonderfully written. Based on a tragic story, it's a c... READ MORE
The Trials and Tribulations of the Windrush Generation
“Friday night in London Town; survivors of war. Who knew better how to live than those who had not so long ago wondered how short that life might be.”
Aft... READ MORE
Interesting book
I received this book free from NetGalley, this is my honest opinion.
I chose this book because I was drawn to the cover and I don’t think I realised what... READ MORE
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