Mother London is a novel by Michael Moorcock. Published in 1988, it was shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize.[1] Although the city of London itself is perhaps the central character, it follows three outpatients from a mental hospital—a music hall artist (Josef Kiss), a reclusive writer (David Mummery) and a woman just awoken from a long coma (Mary Gasalee)—who experience the history of the city from the Blitz to the late eighties through chaotic experience and sensory delusions.[2] The novel is a non-chronological compilation of episodes, snippets and sidelines, rather than a single cohesive narrative. A piece in The Guardian called it ‘a great, humane document’.[3]
Michael Moorcock was the editor of New Worlds and gained numerous critical acclaim and media attention.[4]
References
- “Internet Speculative Fiction Database”. Retrieved 18 December 2007.
- “Moorcock’s Miscellany”. Archived from the original on 23 November 2007. Retrieved 18 December 2007.
- Brown, Charles N.; William G. Contento. “The Locus Index to Science Fiction (1984–1998)”. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
Footnotes
- ^ Flood, Alison (18 February 2015). “New Michael Moorcock novel to combine autobiography and fantasy”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
- ^ Phillips, Lawrence. London Narratives: Post-War Fiction and the City, London: Continuum, 2006, p 154.
- ^ “Crowning glory: Michael Moorcock’s London”. The Guardian. London.
- ^ Winter, Jerome (20 January 2013). “Radiant Time: An Interview with Michael Moorcock”. LA Review of Books.
