Matthew Ingleby Knihy

Focusing on the interplay between fiction and socio-economic dynamics, this study examines the evolution of the novel in nineteenth-century Bloomsbury, London. It reveals how writers redefined the area's perceived marginality into a space of autonomy amidst cultural growth and economic decline. By employing sociological theory, the book traces the emergence of Bloomsbury as a literary hub and connects its later association with the Bloomsbury Group to earlier developments. Ultimately, it highlights the symbolic relationship between writers and the neighborhood, illustrating how fiction shaped its cultural identity.

Bloomsbury lies at the heart of cultural and intellectual London, famed for its museums, universities and literary heritage. Matthew Ingleby's new history ranges across the neighbourhood to explore hidden corners and reveal unexpected connections between Bloomsbury's past and present, its buildings and its people, its austere towers and its garden squares. Ingleby examines the facets of Bloomsbury that have shaped its identity - its long association with youth and beginnings; its proud secularism and scepticism; and its role as London's centre of thinking, writing and publishing. He draws on the voices of Bloomsbury's most observant residents, such as Charles Dickens and Virginia Woolf, to explain the character of the place in a fresh and engaging new way.