A wonderful find: a personal and in-depth history of this part of London, ending with a breathtaking account of an official descent to and along the ancient and hidden River Fleet. An evocative and fact-filled book, making any visit to this area richer, as the layers of London’s past reveal themselves behind what you actually see. Her account of the Italian community’s ‘sagra’ led me to attend this year’s festival, and put it in the diary for next year.