This article explores the image of London as a complex semiotic and sociocultural space, using the novel “The Cuckoo’s Calling” (2013) by Robert Galbraith (pseudonym of J.K. Rowling) as its primary material. Within the narrative, the city emerges as a multilayered structure in which historical, topographical, ethnic, and cultural elements coexist, contributing to the formation of a coherent yet heterogeneous “urban text”. The study draws on literary and cultural approaches, interpreting London as a symbolic model that reflects the class, ethnic, and cultural diversity of British society. Particular attention is given to the function of key London locations such as Denmark Street, Mayfair, Brixton, End and West Enda areas - and their role in constructing the novel’s chronotope. Through the perspectives of the main characters, Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott, the city is revealed as a space 117 of semiotic contrasts and intercultural communication. The analysis addresses the text’s toponymic density, the realism of its urbanonyms, and the use of emblematic cultural markers of British identity, including pubs, transportation, architecture, and language. As a result, London is portrayed in the novel with exceptional toponymic accuracy and through richly detailed visual, auditory, and sensory imagery. The British capital is strikingly “polyphonic,” combining heterogeneous and contrasting elements - from prestigious neighborhoods to disadvantaged outskirts, from well-known tourist attractions to obscure corners familiar only to locals. Thus, London in the novel is presented not only as a physical space but also as a semantic one, reflecting the sociocultural dynamics of contemporary Britain.
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