Faber & Faber

Spotted in early 2010 was this letter from Geoff Brandwood about the merits of Maurice Gorham's Back to the Local, his memorable literary crawl about British pubs in the 1940s. Brandwood's a bit of an expert and his opinion counts - he used to be Chairman of the Victorian Society, and is a member of the CAMRA Pub Heritage Group and author of Licensed to Sell: The History and Heritage of the Public House and London Heritage Pubs [available here].

In 'The London Drinker' Geoff Brandwood wrote:

For me Back to the Local is the most delightful and evocative book ever published about the English pub. It also is highly informative about how pubs used to be and, although it came out half a century ago in 1949, it tells of a world that older drinkers (like me!) will recall with affection. Lovely drawings by artist Edward Ardizzone help bring this bygone world to life on the pages.

Readers may care to know that is it is now readily available again, having been recently reprinted by Faber and Faber at a modest £12. Like old pubs and like a good read? This is your book!

[Faber writes: 'Cheers Geoff!]