Shortlisted for the HWA Goldsboro Debut Crown It is 31 March 1836. A new monthly periodical is launched entitled The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Conceived and created by the artist Robert Seymour, it contains four of his illustrations. The words to accompany them are written by a young journalist, under the pen-name Boz. The journalist's real name is Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers soon becomes a phenomenal, unprecedented sensation, read and discussed by the entire British Isles. Before long, its success is worldwide. Stephen Jarvis's novel tells of the dawning of the age of global celebrity. It is a story of colossal triumph and of the depths of tragedy, based on real events - and an expose of how an ambitious young writer stole another man's ideas.

The history of London is so important in national and indeed international terms, it seems extraordinary that this is the first general bibliography of the subject to appear. It contains over 22,000 selected references to books and articles on the history of London, from the Dark Ages to the beginning of the Second World War. The whole of the former GLC area plus the City is covered. Arrangement is by subject, and there is a substantial analytical index. Material for the bibliography was collected from specialist libraries all over London and beyond. It is a starting point for any enquiry about London's development over the centuries, whether from the academic historian, the amateur or the general enquirer. A supplement is planned, to cover new material on the period.