A Writer's Guide to London

This is my last post on my trip to London. I promise. When I travel, I like to see the places frequented by writers, living and dead. I already posted about the Globe Theatre, here and here.

On our last day in London, DH and I visited Waterstone’s, the largest bookstore in Europe. Six of the store’s eight floors are packed with books. I perused the children’s section and romance section. I saw many of my favorite children’s books there, including the British editions of the Harry Potter books. The romance section was stocked with mostly vampire books and historical romance. I was surprised to see contemporary romance missing.


That same day, we went to afternoon tea at Brown’s Hotel. This was the first hotel to open in London in 1837. It has hosted several famous visitors including Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, who stayed there on their honeymoon, Alexander Graham Bell, who made the first telephone call from the United Kingdom at the hotel in 1876, and Rudyard Kipling, who wrote part of The Jungle Book there.

But that is not why I chose Brown’s Hotel from all of the establishments offering afternoon tea. One of the English Tea Room’s most famous frequent visitors was Agatha Christie. She wrote At Bertram’s Hotel in the tea room, inspired by the hotel and its patrons. While we were there, I wondered if she sat near the same fireplace, observing the other guests, penning her novel in longhand.

Well, okay, and I also wondered if anyone would ever care where I sit to write my stories. Are you inspired by the haunts of famous writers? Can you pass a bookstore without going in to see what treasures are shelved inside? Are you a travel guide planner or a wander about visitor?

Groundlings and Winchester Geese

In a post about my visit to the Globe Theatre in London earlier this month, I promised a later blog about the theatre’s patrons. Here we go.

In the days of the original Globe Theatre, patrons could pay one penny to stand or two pennies for general seating. The theatre-goers who stood in the yard to watch the plays were called Groundlings. Visitors to today’s version of the Globe can still purchase a Groundling ticket for five pounds. In case of rain, no umbrellas are allowed.

In William Shakespeare’s day, it was considered socially unacceptable for women to attend the theatre except in the company of a male family member. Members of polite society sat in the lower or middle galleries. Business was conducted in the upper gallery where prostitutes waved white handkerchiefs to attract customers, presumably to arrange for a meeting elsewhere. Prostitutes in the neighborhood were licensed by the Bishop of Winchester which earned them the nickname Winchester Geese. Now you’re probably wondering why they were licensed by a bishop. Answer: most of the brothels were owned by the Church of England. On our visit to the Globe, we sat in the Upper Gallery among tourists and a few locals. No business was conducted. As far as I know.

A Visit to William Shakespeare's (New) Place

When DH and I visited London recently, I just had to see the Globe Theatre, the home of William Shakespeare’s company. The Globe we visited is actually the third Globe Theatre, built a few hundred yards from the foundation of the original.

The current reconstruction of the Globe was the brainstorm of American actor/director Sam Wanamaker. On a visit to London in 1949, he was disappointed to find that there was no great memorial to Shakespeare at the site. He started a foundation and spearheaded the rebuilding of a new Globe. Sam Wanamaker died in 1993 while the construction was underway. The building was completed in 1997.

We enjoyed the play, The Merry Wives of Windsor from the upper balcony. We had great seats, facing the stage. In the lobby, theatre volunteers were renting seat cushions for one pound each. We decided it might be a good idea to rent them. Good move. The theatre is generally a historically-accurate recreation of the original Globe, which means you sit on tiny wooden seats in the open-air theatre. But it was worth it! The play was fantastic and a very fun experience.

Two school groups were sitting in the lower area near the stage. They looked like they had come straight from Hogwarts, minus the robes, but with navy blazers and ties for boys and girls.

Tours of the Globe are held in the morning, so DH graciously accompanied me back to the Globe (the only site we visited twice during our trip) for the next morning’s tour. The theatre is in the Southwark neighborhood, across the Thames River. I pronounced it South-wark (in my Southern accent) until I heard the message on the Underground announce we were approaching Southwark station (pronounced Su-therk as in Southern with a K at the end instead of an N).

The first Globe Theatre was built in 1599 and stood for 14 years until a fire started by a cannon fired during a production of Henry VIII caused the entire structure to burn to the ground. The second Globe was built in 1613 with a tiled roof. William Shakespeare died two years after this Globe was built. The Globe met its demise in 1642 when the Puritan government closed and demolished all theatres calling them “nests of the devil”.

I’ll stop for now, but more on the Globe’s original theatre patrons later.