I landed in London on a wintry autumn evening. It was dark and raining, and I saw more fog and mud in a minute than I had seen in a year.

Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

The amusements of London seemed as flat as soda-water that has been standing in the sun.

John Buchan (1875-1940), The Thirty-Nine Steps

. . . a duller spectacle this Earth of ours has not to show than a rainy Sunday in London.

Thomas de Quincey (1785-1859)

“I love walking in London”, said Mrs Dalloway. “Really, it’s better than walking in the country”.

Virginia Woolf (1882-1914), Mrs Dalloway

I do not at all like that city . . . Whatever evil or malicious thing that can be found in any part of the world, you will find in that one city . . . if you do not want to dwell with evildoers, do not live in London.

Richard of Devizes (c.1150-c.1200)