# books / The Grand Babylon Hotel -- Arnold Bennett

A fun and eccentric little mystery based in a late 19th century hotel. Many of the things I love in a book: the polished & deliberate prose typical of the period, elevated, formal vocabulary, subtle & dry. Not to mention: mystery, old London, raw humour. A world of cigarette smoke & dinner jackets. Charm & quite cynicism.

It’s not a special read, but a little fun.

Highlights

“I have not spent so pleasant an evening for many years. You have let me ride my hobby to my heart’s content. It is I who should apologize.”

“I have heard of hotels that run themselves. If they do, you may be sure that they obey the laws of gravity and run downwards.”

“if there is any business about I am doing it.”

According to official intelligence, a Prince is never seriously ill until he is dead. Such is statecraft.