New members of the London Society can get free tickets for our traditional pre-Christmas talk as the authors of a recent book on London tell us all about their new work - with mince pies, red wine and other festive treats to follow.

Danny Rosenbaum and Rupert Vandervell, the authors of the new book London Lives, discuss the inspirational and varied characters featured in their book and reveal what they tell us about the capital city. 

They draw upon their research interviews with such people as Chris Earlie, bridge-master of Tower Bridge; Tom Moss-Davies, head gardener at Regent’s Park; Heather Bonney, head of human remains at the Natural History Museum; David Ison, the Dean of St Paul’s; Marcus Davey, chief executive of The Roundhouse, Andrea Tanner, the archivist at Fortnum & Mason to reveal some surprise facts about London and its iconic places.

According to Andrew Marr: London Lives “is a composite portrait built up from tiny dabs of vivid colour, specific observations and local moments. It seems to me to get nearer to the truth about why contemporary London is such an enjoyable city for so many of us – not everyone – to live in.”