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Emile Zola spent almost 11 months in London, self-exiled from France. Most of that time he was staying at this hotel. In his excellent book 'The Disappearance of Emile Zola' Michael Rosen explains the Dreyfus background and uses Zola's letters to fill in many details of his unconventional personal life. The letters also reveal that Zola was not enamoured with England and the English.

Rosen's book gives 1854 as the year this hotel opened and lists its famous visitors as including Florence Nightingale, Kaiser Wilhelm II, the future Kaiser Frederick III, and King Faisal I. Our Daily Read contains a photo of the hotel, taken by Zola, which shows that it used to extend further to the south. At some point the Victorian buildings between the current structure and Fitzroy Gardens were demolished - to provide parking?

Thanks to our colleague Alan Patient, for our photos.