In 1841, Charles Dickens wrote his novel Barnaby Rudge and said: "Few would venture to Chelsea, unarmed and unguarded". At the time, the area was known for its thieves and for a bohemian air and low economic rents, which was what began to attract some of the best writers and artists in British literature.
Since then, the neighborhood of Chelsea in London has been able to create and preserve a chic and bohemian atmosphere that has always exerted a special magnetism for writers, artists, and intellectuals and that makes it, today, one of the most elegant and luxurious neighborhoods of the British capital.
Many of the writers who lived and wrote some of their best works in Chelsea are represented by the famous blue plaques on London buildings showing where these illustrious characters lived.
The Carlyle Mansions area in Cheyne Walk has been nicknamed "The Writers' Block", having been home to, among others, Ian Fleming, who penned here the debut of James Bond in Casino Royale.
Alan Alexander Milne, creator of the famous fictional children's character Winnie the Pooh, resided at 13 Mallord Street from 1919 to 1942, where he wrote his most famous works, including the family book saga with the all-famous teddy bear as the protagonist.
If there is an emblematic hotel linked to the history of the neighborhood in Chelsea, it is the Cadogan. Its history can be traced back to Hans Sloane, an Irish physician, traveler, naturalist, and collector, who, in the 18th century, laid the foundations for some of London's major landmarks, including Cadogan Estates.
His extensive collection of plant specimens, insects, books, drawings, and curiosities were donated to the nation and became the basis of the British Museum, the British Library, the Natural History Museum, and the Chelsea Physic Garden. As a tribute to their legacy, a painting or illustration of a blue butterfly is displayed in each room of the Cadogan.
The Cadogan officially opened at 75 Sloane Street in 1887 and, since its opening, has played host to some of London society's best-known characters and has been the silent witness to some stories that would serve as the perfect plot for a novel.
Victorian actress Lillie Langtry who was, in the late 19th century, the mistress of the then Prince of Wales and future King Edward VII, used to meet him in one of the hotel rooms accessed through a discreet wood-paneled door that is still in use today.
Oscar Wilde, who wrote his most famous works at nearby 34 Tite Street, stayed at the hotel on several occasions, specifically in room 118. It was in that room that, in 1895, he was arrested for "gross indecency with other male persons". Today, that room is the Royal Suite at the Cadogan.
To stay at the Cadogan is to immerse oneself in elegant luxury through a careful interior design of soft colors, classic lines, and surprising artworks and a literary legacy that continues to be honored through the small collections of books available to guests that can be found in the rooms.
It is an oasis of peace in the middle of bustling London where it is possible to relax by reading a book by the fireplace or strolling through the Cadogan Place Gardens. A private green sanctuary in Chelsea and one of the city's best-kept secrets, which has hardly changed since they opened in 1886. The wide gardens and ornamental plants invite you to relax and connect with that fragment of urban nature. It is the perfect place to enjoy, for example, a glamorous picnic in summer, in the purest English style, or to play a game of tennis on one of its courts.
Gastronomy is another of Cadogan's strengths. With Adam Hadling, one of the UK's most celebrated young chefs, at the helm. The culinary offering, which is prepared in an open kitchen, offers traditional British dishes reinvented in a very creative and artistic way.
After dinner, ending the evening with a cocktail at The Bar, the journey continues into the novel-like past of this luxury hotel emblematic of the most elegant side of London. Let's see who dares to try the "Dead Oscar", a cocktail created in tribute to Oscar Wilde, based on champagne, gin, and absinthe.
The Cadogan is the ideal starting point, not only to visit the literary side of Chelsea whose writers found their muses in these streets. If you're an art lover you can explore Gladwell & Patterson, London's oldest art gallery, dating back to 1752, or the modern Saatchi Gallery, with an impressive collection of contemporary art.
Buy books about artists at the elegant Taschen Bookstore, located in Duke of York Square. And, if it's the works of Chelsea novelists you're after, you should visit John Sandoe Books in Blacklands Terrace, which has some 28,000 titles on its shelves.
Another of the attractions of the neighborhood is the Chelsea Physic Garden, which opened in 1673 and is the oldest botanical garden in London. It is a space that captivates the senses and where you can discover a total of 5,000 medicinal, culinary, and edible plants from different countries, such as cocoa or coffee, which are found in its historic glass greenhouses.
The luxurious Knightsbridge neighborhood is just a short walk from the hotel and remains a tempting and popular afternoon shopping location at some of the city's most iconic stores, including the legendary Harrod's department store.
Oscar Wilde said, "With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon ... who could not be happy?" Discovering Chelsea is all that and much more, and, surely for that reason, it was in this neighborhood of London where the writer found inspiration and wrote some of his most famous works.
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