Recommendations / Our pick of the best

by Antonia Fraser Antonia Fraser draws on her meticulously kept diaries and recollections in this portrait of her long and celebrated marriage to the great playwright and local Clapton man, Harold Pinter. A compelling and fascinating insight into their relationship, and into Pinter’s art as a writer.

by The Hackney Society. Edited by Lisa Rigg Hackney Modern, Restored, Forgotten, Ignored features 40 buildings to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Hackney Society. Written by 40 authors the book seeks to draw attention to good-quality modern architecture; recent restoration projects; buildings that have been lost; and buildings that are currently at risk from [...]

by Iain Sinclair A personal record of our borough, where Sinclair has lived for forty years. It is a documentary fiction, seeking to capture the spirit of place, before Hackney succumbs to mendacious green papers, eco boasts, sponsored public art and the Olympic Park gnawing at its edges. A must-read for Hackney lovers.

by Roland Camberton A former student of Hackney Downs School, Roland Camberton released this classic tale of Jewish life in the 1930′s before retreating from public life a disappearing off the literary map for good. Acknowledged as the quintessential Hackney author, Camberton has gone on to be championed by Iain Sinclair and others as being [...]