1666: Plague, War, and Hellfire - Couverture rigide

Rideal, Rebecca

 
9781250097064: 1666: Plague, War, and Hellfire

Synopsis


1666 was a watershed year for England. An outbreak of the Great Plague, the eruption of the second Dutch War, and the devastating Great Fire of London all struck the country in rapid succession and with devastating repercussions.

Shedding light on these dramatic events and their context, historian Rebecca Rideal reveals an unprecedented period of terror and triumph. Based in original archival research drawing on little-known sources, 1666 opens with the fiery destruction of London before taking readers on a thrilling journey through a crucial turning point in English history as seen through the eyes of an extraordinary cast of historical characters.

While the central events of this significant year were ones of devastation and defeat, 1666 also offers a glimpse of the incredible scientific and artistic progress being made at that time, from Isaac Newton s discovery of gravity to the establishment of The London Gazette . It was in this year that John Milton completed Paradise Lost , Frances Stewart posed for the iconic image of Britannia, and a young architect named Christopher Wren proposed a plan for a new London a stone phoenix to rise from the charred ashes of the old city.

With flair and style, 1666 exposes readers to a city and a country on the cusp of modernity and a series of events that altered the course of history. .

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Revue de presse

An impressively vivid account of an extraordinary piece of England's history. Rideal is particularly good on the great set pieces - the plague, the fire and (especially) the naval battles - which she brings to dramatic life with telling details (The Times)

A book firmly anchored in the grain of contemporary accounts, sparking with the crackle of first-hand reports (Guardian)

Sympathetic and sharp-eyed ... an enjoyable book about an exciting period of history (Daily Telegraph)

Rideal's London pulses with humanity . . . It is Rideal's vivid and confident style, teamed with meticulous research and a curiosity for the quotidian that makes 1666: Plague, War and Hellfire a memorable, gripping and very satisfying read (Historia)

Accessible and entertaining . . . a keen eye for engaging anecdote and historical personality (The Spectator)

1666 is described brilliantly . . . a rollicking new book (Evening Standard)

Bound to reveal secrets you won't have heard before (History Revealed)

Gripping and beautifully written . . . extraordinarily vivid (BBC History Magazine)

It's just extraordinary, just taking a single moment, albeit a very significant one in history and weaving in the political, the social the military history. But she writes like a novelist and has clearly done her research, it's a very scholarly book. I literally couldn't put it down (Tracy Borman, Open Book)

Présentation de l'éditeur

1666 was a watershed year for England. It was the year of the Great Plague; the eruption of the second Dutch War, the clash between two great powers which ultimately ended in one of the English military's most humiliating defeats; and the Great Fire. It is a year in which no single event existed alone and which, in many ways, gave shape to the country we know today.

1666: Plague, War and Hellfire shines a light on these dramatic events to reveal an unprecedented period of terror and triumph, in a book full of extraordinary characters and teeming life.

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