Local author C. J. Schüler will discuss his forthcoming book, The Wood that Built London, to be published by Sandstone Press in October 2021.

Drawing on historic documents, maps and environmental evidence, it charts the fortunes of the North Wood that once covered much of what is now South London: its ecology, its ownership, its management, its gradual encroachment by the metropolis, and the battles fought by local people, alongside the London Wildlife Trust, to save what remained.

C. J. Schüler’s most recent book, Along the Amber Route, was shortlisted for Stanford Dolman Award and longlisted for the Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize in 2021. His previous works include Writers, Lovers, Soldiers, Spies, a history of the Authors’ Club of London, of which he was chairman from 2008 to 2015, and three illustrated histories of cartography.

He has written on literature, travel and the arts for The Independent, The Independent on Sunday, The Tablet and the Financial Times. A former staff member with The Independent and the Rough Guides, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 2011. He lives in Herne Hill, and has been a regular volunteer at the London Wildlife Trust’s Sydenham Hill Wood Reserve since 2011.

Donations of £5 are encouraged and all proceeds will go to the work of Bell House. Thank you for your support, however if you would like a free ticket please use the code FreeTicket at the checkout.