The Literary Psychogeography of London

This Pivot book examines literary elements of urban topography that have animated Alan Moore, Peter Ackroyd, and Iain Sinclair’s respective representations of London-ness. Ann Tso argues these authors write London “psychogeographically” to deconstruct popular visions of London with colonial and neoliberal undertones. Moore’s psychogeography consists of bird’s-eye views that reveal the brute force threatening to unravel Londonscape from within; Ackroyd’s aims to detect London sensuously, since every new awareness recalls an otherworldly London; Sinclair’s conjures up a narrative consciousness made erratic by London’s disunified landscape. Drawing together the dystopian, the phenomenological, and the postcolonial, Tso explores how these texts characterize “London-ness” as estranging.

“Ann Tso’s study of psychogeography and selected British novelists is reflective, thoughtful, and exhibits genuine critical intelligence.  Well-researched, this volume is original and well-judged: a must for all scholars of London and the novel.” (Philip Tew, Professor of English, Brunel University, UK, and author of The Contemporary British Novel (2004) and B.S. Johnson: A Critical Reading (2001)) 

“Ann Tso’s The Literary Psychogeography of London provides an intriguing reformulation of psychogeography, one foregrounding ‘labyrinthine London’ as a disruptive and palimpsistic space—or literary property—undermining attempts to secure it for purposes of national identity or trade. Tso astutely charts the shadowy fluid and fractal nature of ‘London-ness’ in provocative readings of Gothic-inflected texts by Alan Moore, Peter Ackroyd, and Ian Sinclair.” (Ryan Trimm, Professor of English, The University of Rhode Island, USA)

“The Literary Psychogeography of London offers fresh readings of Ackroyd, Moore, and Sinclair that reveal their distinctive renderings of a literary London-ness. Tso is attuned to the idiosyncrasies and insights of each of these writers and she identifies new possibilities for psychogeography as a critical and creative practice.” (Nick Bentley, Senior Lecturer in English Literature, Keele University, UK)

“Ann Tso’s The Literary Psychogeography of London investigates the London-ness of London with style, rigour, and clarity. She considers the writing and re-writing of London as a kind of literary palimpsest, and performs an engaging critical archaeology, investigating the ‘three-dimensional personality’ of the city. Considering the works of Ackroyd, Moore, and Sinclair in detail, this is an excellent addition to studies of literary London and a recommended starting point for those interested in beginning a psychogeographical journey through the literary histories of the city.” (Brian Baker, Senior Lecturer in English and Creative Writing, Lancaster University, UK)

Ann Tso is Instructor of English at Lethbridge College, Canada. Much of her research concerns popular re-imaginings of world cities, particularly theories of worlding and alternate histories. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Neo-Victorian Studies, The Literary London Journal, and Journal of Narrative Theory.