Many books have been written, and continue to be written, about Soho. Much historical material is also available on-line and a link to
the extensive and richly documented British History Online web-site is included here. Not all the books are specific to Soho. Several contain only a chapter or a few pages of relevent text and these are included here too.
If you know of or possess a book about some aspect of Soho which is not listed here then please let us know some details so that they may be added here.
Our thanks for additional information go to: Maurice Poole and Shirley Frankel.
Recent additions:
- Members Only - The Life & Times of Paul Raymond
- Capital Affairs
- West End Girls (e-book and hardback)
- Ronnie Scott's Jazz Farrago
- Jazz at Ronnie Scott's
- All This and Many a Dog
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Alphabetical list of authors
CLICK ON A BUTTON FOR MORE DETAILS
Jake Arnott, He Kills Coppers 
Jill Barber, Britain in Old Photographs - Westminster
E. Beresford Chancellor, The Romance of Soho - Being an Account ...
Jeffrey Bernard & Frank Norman Soho Night and Day
Gerry Black, Living Up West - Jewish Life in London's West End
Christopher Booker & C. Lycett Green, Goodbye London - Illus. Gde Threatened Buildgs
Noel Botham & Fr. Michael Seed, Will I See You in Heaven?
Wensley Clarkson, Billy Hill - Godfather of London
Wensley Clarkson, Hit 'em Hard - Jack Spot, King of the Underworld
Howard P. Clunn, London Marches On
Michael Connor, The Soho Don - Gangland's Greatest Untold Story
Daniel Farson, Soho in the Fifties
Stephen Fothergill, The Last Lamplighter: A Soho Education
Jonathan Fryer, Soho Figures of the 1950s and 1960s
Peter Gibson, Capital Companion - A Street-by-Street Guide ...
Brian Girling, Westminster's Villages
Jim Godbolt, All This and Many a Dog
Jim Godbolt, Jazz at Ronnie Scott's
Jim Godbolt, Ronnie Scott's Jazz Farrago
Murray Goldstein, Naked Jungle - Soho Stripped Bare
Pip Granger, Up West
Tom Harrison, Living Through the Blitz
Mrs Robert Henrey, London
Roger Hudson, Bloomsbury, Fitzrovia and Soho
Stanley Jackson, An Indiscreet Guide to Soho
Bernie Katz, Soho Society
Chaim Lewis, A Soho Address
Simon Lewis, Soho
Alastair Little, Soho Cooking
Clayton Littlewood, Dirty White Boy
John Londei, Shutting Up Shop - The Decline of the Traditional Small Shop
Candida Lycett Green & C. Booker, Goodbye London - Illus. Gde Threatened Buildgs
Mrs Meyrick, Secrets of the 43 Club
A.R. Hope Moncrieff, London
Frank Mort, Capital Affairs - London and the Making of the Permissive Society
James Morton & Gerry Parker, Gangland Bosses - Lives of Jack Spot & Billy Hill
Frank Norman & Jeffrey Bernard, Soho Night and Day
Gerry Parker & James Morton, Gangland Bosses - Lives of Jack Spot & Billy Hill
Nigel Richardson, Dog Days in Soho
Glenys Roberts, Metropolitan Myths - Private Lives of London People
Edward Rutherfurd, London
Fr. Michael Seed & Noel Botham, Will I See You in Heaven?
Judith Summers, Soho - A History of London's Most Colourful Neighbourhood
Survey of London, British History On-line
Richard & Sheila Tames, Covent Garden and Soho
Richard Tames, Soho Past
Barbara Tate, West End Girls
Keith Waterhouse, Soho, or Alex in Wonderland
Keith Waterhouse, Soho
Beatrix von Watzdorf, One of the Boys
Paul Willetts, Members Only - The Life & Times of Paul Raymond
A.N. Wilson, Faber Book of London
Richard Wortley, Skin Deep in Soho
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Alphabetical list of books
- All This and Many a Dog
- AUTHOR: Jim Godbolt
PUBLISHER:
DATE:
DESCRIPTION:
COMMENT: Biography of author with sections about Ronnie Scott's jazz club (first in Gerrard Street, then in Frith Street).
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- An Indiscreet Guide to Soho
- AUTHOR: Stanley Jackson
PUBLISHER: Muse Arts, 48 South Molton Street, London W1.
DATE: estimated about 1946
ISBN: n/a
DESCRIPTION: hardback, 135 pages, plus book catalogue.
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- Billy Hill - Godfather of London
- AUTHOR: Wensley Clarkson
PUBLISHER: Pennant Books
DATE:
ISBN-10: 1906015430, ISBN-13: 978-1906015435
DESCRIPTION: Paperback, 288 pages
COMMENT:
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- Bloomsbury, Fitzrovia and Soho
- AUTHOR: Roger Hudson, Joe Whitlock Blundell
PUBLISHER: Haggerston Press, 38 Kensington Place, London W8 7PR
DATE: 1996
ISBN: 1-869812-14-X
DESCRIPTION:
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- Britain in Old Photographs - Westminster
- AUTHOR: Jill Barber
PUBLISHER: Sutton Publishing, Phoenix Mill, Stroud, Gloucs. GL5 2BU
DATE: 1998
ISBN: 0-7509-1721-0
DESCRIPTION: paperback, 128 pages, index.
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- British History Online
Survey of London List of Volumes
VOLUMES 31 and 32: St James, Westminster, Part 2: The parish, between Piccadilly and Oxford Street. Includes streets in Soho, Golden Square, some history of the Piccadilly Circus area, and the formation of Shaftesbury Avenue. The history of James Wyatt's Pantheon, of 1772 (on the south side of Oxford Street), is also given. Rebuilding of the Regent Street Quadrant in 1905-28.
VOLUMES 33 and 34: St. Anne, Soho: the most famous of London's cosmopolitan quarters as defined largely by Wardour Street, Oxford Street and Charing Cross Road, and includes Soho Square, Leicester Square, and part of Cambridge Circus. Many of the streets here were first built up in the late 17th century under the building speculators Dr Nicholas Barbon and Richard Frith. Some Georgian houses are described and illustrated, e.g. No.1 Greek Street and No.76 Dean Street.
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- Capital Affairs - London and the Making of the Permissive Society
- AUTHOR: Frank Mort
PUBLISHER: Yale University Press
DATE: June 2010
ISBN-10: , ISBN-13:
DESCRIPTION: Hardcover
COMMENT: A full-page critique of this book was published in the Camden New Journal in the Review section, page 3, in issue no.1463 dated Thursday 15 July 2010.
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- The Capital Companion - A Street-by-Street Guide to London and Its Inhabitants
- AUTHOR: Peter Gibson (c)1985
PUBLISHER: Webb & Bower, Exeter, Devon EX2 4BY, U.K.
DATE: 1985
ISBN: 0-86350-042-0
DESCRIPTION: Contains details of more than 780 people and nearly 400 streets (1,500 addresses).
Hardback, 446 pages.
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- Covent Garden and Soho - The Illustrated A-Z historical guide
- AUTHORS: Richard and Sheila Tames
PUBLISHER: Historical Publications Ltd.
PUBLICATION DATE: September 2009
ISBN: 978-1-905286-31-7
DESCRIPTION: Softback with flap covers. 230mm H x 192mm W.
192 pages. A-Z format. 212 illustrations (78 colour). Subject index.
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- Dirty White Boy - Tales of Soho
- AUTHOR: Clayton Littlewood
PUBLISHER: Cleis Press
DATE: 2008
ISBN:
DESCRIPTION: a review published in The Soho Clarion
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 - AUTHOR: Nigel Richardson
PUBLISHER:
DATE:
ISBN:
DESCRIPTION:
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- The Faber Book of London
- EDITOR: A.N. Wilson
PUBLISHER:
DATE:
ISBN: 0-571-17174-5
DESCRIPTION: paperback, 493 pages, bibliography, authors, index
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- Gangland Bosses - The Lives of Jack Spot and Billy Hill
- AUTHORS: James Morton and Gerry Parker
PUBLISHER: Time Warner Paperbacks
DATE: 2005
ISBN-10: 0751533203, ISBN-13: 978-0751533200
DESCRIPTION: Paperback, 384 pages
COMMENT:
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- Goodbye London - An Illustrated Guide to Threatened Buildings
- AUTHOR: Christopher Booker and Candida Lycett Green
PUBLISHER: Fontana
DATE: 1973
ISBN: 0-00-633216-1
DESCRIPTION: See pages 55 - 63
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- He Kills Coppers
- AUTHOR: Jake Arnott
PUBLISHER: Sceptre
DATE:
ISBN-10: , ISBN-13:
DESCRIPTION:
COMMENT:
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- Hit 'em Hard - Jack Spot, King of the Underworld
- AUTHOR: Wensley Clarkson
PUBLISHER: HarperCollins Entertainment
DATE: 2002
ISBN-10: 0007124406, ISBN-13: 978-0007124404
DESCRIPTION: Hardcover, 305 pages
COMMENT:
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- Jazz at Ronnie Scott's [JARS]
- EDITOR: Jim Godbolt
PUBLISHER: Ronnie Scott's, Soho, London W1.
DATE: 1979-2006
DESCRIPTION: magazine format, monochrome pictures.
COMMENT: Jazz at Ronnie Scott's was published monthly in-house by Ronnie Scott's. It was founded by editor Jim Godbolt n 1979 and edited by him during the period 1979-2006, ending with takeover of the club by theatre impressario Sally Greene. Number of editions may exceed 159.
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- The Last Lamplighter: A Soho Education
- AUTHOR: Stephen Fothergill
PUBLISHER: London Magazine Editions
DATE: May 2000
ISBN-10: 0904388832, ISBN-13: 978-0904388831
DESCRIPTION: 152 pages. Hardback.
CONTENT: "The Last Lamplighter" describes life in Soho during the 1940s and 1950s.
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- Living Through the Blitz
- AUTHOR: Tom Harrison
PUBLISHER: Penguin
DATE: 1990
ISBN: 0-14-013236-8
DESCRIPTION: Comment within pages 61-132
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- Living Up West - Jewish Life in London's West End
- AUTHOR: Gerry Black
PUBLISHER: The London Museum Of Jewish Life
DATE: 1994
ISBN: 0-9511-613-6-9
DESCRIPTION: paperback, 336 pages, bibliography, glossary, index.
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- London
- AUTHOR: Mrs Robert Henrey
PUBLISHER: J.M. Dent & Co., London
DATE: 1955
ISBN: n/a
DESCRIPTION: hardback, 290 pages. See various pages about Soho
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- London
- AUTHOR: A.R. Hope Moncrieff
PUBLISHER: A & C Black, Soho Square, London W1
DATE: 1929
ISBN: n/a/
DESCRIPTION: hardback, 267 pages, index. See various pages about Soho
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- London
- AUTHOR: Edward Rutherfurd (...furd=correct spelling)
PUBLISHER: Arrow Books
DATE: 1998
ISBN: 0-09-920191-7
DESCRIPTION: historical novel, paperback, 1302 pages
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- London Marches On
- AUTHOR: Harold P. Clunn
PUBLISHER: The Caen Press, Temple Avenue, EC4
DATE: 1947
ISBN: n/a
DESCRIPTION: hardback, 247 pages, index. See various pages listed in index
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- Members Only - The Life and Times of Paul Raymond
- AUTHOR: Paul Willetts
PUBLISHER: Serpent's Tail, London.
DATE: 3 September 2010
ISBN-13: 9781846687150
DESCRIPTION: 479 pages, softback.
COMMENT:
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- Metropolitan Myths - The Private Lives of London People
- AUTHOR: Glenys Roberts
PUBLISHER: Libri Mundi, London
DATE: 1989
ISBN: 1-872037-00-3
DESCRIPTION: paperback, 176 pages, see chapter 16, Soho.
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- Naked Jungle - Soho Stripped Bare
- AUTHOR: Murray Goldstein
PUBLISHER: Silverback Press
DATE: 2005
ISBN-10: 0954944402, ISBN-13: 978-0954944407
DESCRIPTION: Paperback
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- One Of The Boys
- AUTHOR: Beatrix von Watzdorf
PUBLISHER: Andre Deutsch
DATE:
ISBN: 0-233-98925-0
DESCRIPTION: hardback, xix + 215 pages
CONTENT: Reminiscences of being on stage and back-stage at Madame Jo-Jo's.
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- The Romance of Soho - Being an Account of the District, its Past Distinguished Inhabitants,
its Historic Houses, and its Place in the Social Annals of London
- AUTHOR: E. Beresford Chancellor
PUBLISHER: Country Life, London
DATE: 1931
ISBN: n/a
DESCRIPTION: 276 pages, index
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- Ronnie Scott's Jazz Farrago
- AUTHOR: Jim Godbolt
PUBLISHER: Hampstead Press, London
DATE:
ISBN-10: , ISBN-13:
DESCRIPTION: 204 pages
COMMENT: Based upon articles published in Jazz at Ronnie Scott's [JARS].
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- Secrets of the 43 Club
- AUTHOR: Mrs Meyrick
PUBLISHER:
DATE: 1933
ISBN:
DESCRIPTION: The 43 Club was located at no.43 Gerrard Street, W1.
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- Shutting Up Shop: The Decline of the Traditional Small Shop
- AUTHOR: John Londei
PUBLISHER: Dewi Lewis Publishing
DATE: 2007
ISBN-10: 1904587461, ISBN-13: 978 1904587460
DESCRIPTION: Hardback, 144 pages
COMMENT: We have not seen the contents of this book, photographs depicting the demise of sixty small shops in various parts of the U.K., and there may possibly be no direct reference to Soho. The book's subject however alludes to the loss of many small shops in Soho over many decades.
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- Skin Deep In Soho
- AUTHOR: Richard Wortley
PUBLISHER: Jarrolds Publishers [London] Ltd
DATE: 1969
ISBN:
DESCRIPTION:
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- Soho
- AUTHOR: Simon Lewis
PUBLISHER: Rich & Cowan, London
DATE: 1952
ISBN: n/a
DESCRIPTION: 207 pages, index. Much historical description, earlier centuries.
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- Soho
- AUTHOR: Keith Waterhouse
PUBLISHER: Sceptre
DATE:
ISBN-10: , ISBN-13:
DESCRIPTION:
COMMENT:
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- Soho - A History of London's Most Colourful Neighborhood
- AUTHOR: Judith Summers
PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd, 2 Soho Square, W1V 5DE.
DATE: 1989
ISBN: 0-7475-0384-2
DESCRIPTION: 244 pages, bibliography, index.
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- A Soho Address
- AUTHOR: Chaim Lewis
PUBLISHER: Victor Gollancz
DATE: 1965
ISBN: n/a
DESCRIPTION: Biographical story by Soho resident
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- Soho Cooking
- AUTHOR: Alastair Little (Soho restauranteur)
PUBLISHER: Ebury Press, London SW1V 2SA
DATE: 1999
ISBN: 0-09-186422-4
DESCRIPTION:hardback, 256 pages, index. Recipes, social and historical commentaries.
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- The Soho Don - Gangland's Greatest Untold Story
- AUTHOR: Michael Connor
PUBLISHER: Mainstream Publishing
DATE: 2003
ISBN-10: 1840187816, ISBN-13: 978-1840187816
DESCRIPTION: Paperback, 224 pages
COMMENT: About Billy Howard who dominated the Soho, Mayfair and Brighton underworlds for 30 years. Died 1984.
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- Soho Figures of the 1950s and 1960s
- AUTHOR: Jonathan Fryer
PUBLISHER:
DATE:
ISBN-10: , ISBN-13:
DESCRIPTION:
COMMENT: This title is part of the National Portrait Gallery's 'Character Sketches' series.
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- Soho In The Fifties
- AUTHOR: Daniel Farson
PUBLISHER: Michael Joseph, 27 Wrights Lane, London W8
DATE: 1987
ISBN: 0-7181-2876-1
DESCRIPTION: 192 pages, index.
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- Soho, or Alex in Wonderland
- AUTHOR: Keith Waterhouse
PUBLISHER: Hodder & Stoughton
DATE: 2001
ISBN: 0-340-76660-3
DESCRIPTION: a novel, 245 pages
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- Soho Night and Day
- AUTHORS: Frank Norman and Jeffrey Bernard
PUBLISHER: Martin Secker & Warberg Ltd., London
DATE: 1966
ISBN:
DESCRIPTION: Details of people and places in Soho.
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- Soho Past
- AUTHOR: Richard Tames
PUBLISHER: Historical Publications, 32 Ellington Street, N7 8PL
DATE: 1994
ISBN: 0-948667-26-5
DESCRIPTION: 144 pages, bibliography, index
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- Soho Society
- AUTHOR: Bernie Katz
PUBLISHER: Quartet Books
DATE: 2008
ISBN-10: 0704371499; ISBN-13: 978-0704371491
DESCRIPTION: hardcover, 160 pages
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- Soho Youth
- PUBLISHER: Soho Youth, http://www.sohoyouth.org
DATE: First issue: October 2009.
ISSN:
DESCRIPTION: Magazine format, A5, 32 pages, full colour.
COMMENT:
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- Up West
- AUTHOR: Pip Granger
PUBLISHER: Corgi
DATE: 2009
ISBN: 9780552153751
DESCRIPTION:
CONTENT: A description of some of the men and women who lived in Covent Garden and Soho during the post-WW II years. The author and her book were featured on the BBC Radio Four Women's Hour programme on Wednesday 12 August 2009.
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- West End Girls
- AUTHOR: Barbara Tate
PUBLISHER: Orion Books, London, U.K.
DATE: 22 July 2010
ISBN-13 (e-book): 9781409116073,
ISBN-13 (hardback): 9781409116066
DESCRIPTION: e-book and hardback formats. Hardback: £12.99
COMMENT: Barbara Tate was 17 when she heard the whispered word that would change her life: Soho. It would take four years for Barbara to escape her loveless home but when she finally made it to the forbidden streets of Soho - just as London was recovering from the trauma of the Second World War - things would never be the same again. There the naive Barbara meets the beautiful and capricious Mae. When she takes a job as Mae's maid, Barbara imagines she'll be housekeeping. But down a shabby backstreet, Barbara discovers the secret lives of Soho's working girls. Barbara Tate eventually left her Soho life and went on to marry, raise a family and become a successful painter. President of the Society of Women Artists, Barbara also received an honorary professorship from Thames Valley University. Barbara died in 2009.
SEE ALSO: http://www.barbaratate.co.uk/
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- Westminster's Villages
- AUTHOR: Brian Girling
PUBLISHER: Chalford Publishing Co., St Mary's Mill, Chalford, Stroud, GL6 8NX
DATE: 1996
ISBN: 0-7524-0683-3
DESCRIPTION: 128 pages
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- Will I See You In Heaven?
- EDITORS: Father Michael Seed and Noel Botham (of The French House, Dean Street)
PUBLISHER: Blake Publishing, London W14
DATE:
COPYRIGHT: 1999 (C) Seed/Botham
ISBN: 1-85782-390-7
DESCRIPTION: hardback, 208 pages. Photographs and line drawings.
CONTENT: Pages 194-197 contain comments about the nature of heaven by pupils of the Soho Parish School.
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