The London Review was founded in 1979 by former editors of the Times Literary Supplement, during the year-long lock-out at The Times. For the first six months, the it appeared as an insert in the New York Review of Books. In May 1980, the Review an independent publication with a pronounced radical editorial orientation.
Among its best-known contributors have been Christopher Hitchens, Edward Said, Terry Eagleton, Marina Warner, Colm Tóibín, and Jonathan Coe.