Steve Williams

Sally Venables

London is world famous for its multitude of shops, but Knightsbridge and Oxford Street are just the tip of the iceberg. Each area of London - from Hackney to Hampstead, from Putney to Peckham - has its own distinctive atmosphere, shops and unique history. Unfortunately, the homogenisation of the high street is beginning to blur these distinctions. Still Open is an intimate and personal tour of some of the capital's best-kept secrets, the traditional shops that have managed to stay open and flourish in the face of this increasingly fierce competition. From the pie and mash shops of the East End, to the 1950s Italian delis of Soho, to James Taylor and Son's classic umbrella shop on Gower Street, Still Open also takes in butchers, florists, coffee shops, clothes shops, toyshops and milliners. The establishments' interiors and exteriors are beautifully photographed and the history of each is told by their proprietors and customers. Personal anecdotes, historical documents and the city's broader history are all invoked as Still Open weaves a compelling tapestry out of the many strands that make up the highways and byways of London. Accessibly divided into geographical areas, Still Open sketches out a portrait of the city and its history - both its well trodden routes and its hidden gems. A guide-book with a difference, Still Open is essential for both Londoners and tourists alike. It is at once a social history, a photographic essay on interior design through the ages and an affectionate look at the last vestiges of romance on the high street.

Sally Venables

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