A Victorian heavyweight, Richard D’Oyly Carte was hotelier extraordinaire, a composer, talent agent (he managed Oscar Wilde) and music impresario. His management prowess led to the birth of the Palace Theatre, the Savoy Theatre and the Savoy Hotel, one of London’s greatest and most famous hotels. He also bought and refurbished Claridge’s, Simpsons-in-the-Strand and The

Alan Alexander Milne, or A. A. Milne as he is known, is a household name today, thanks to a silly old humming bear and his furry friends, but he was also a successful novelist, screenwriter, humourist and playwright. Born and bred in London, Milne spent the bulk of his creative years in Chelsea, using his