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Great Plague and Fire of London
A detailed history of two disasters that befell London, the Great Plague of 1665 in which it is estimated that at least 70,000 died, and the Great Fire of 1666, which destroyed four-fifths of the city.
120 pages, Library Binding
First published December 1, 2001
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About the author
Charles J. Shields
96 books80 followersCharles J. Shields is the author of And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life (Henry Holt & Co.), Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee (Holt), the highly acclaimed, bestselling biography of Harper Lee,I Am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers), and The Man Who Wrote the Perfect Novel: John Williams, Stoner, and the Writing Life (University of Texas Press).
In January 2022, Henry Holt will release Shields' new book, Lorraine Hansberry: The Life Behind 'A Raisin in the Sun,' the most comprehensive biography of, in James Baldwin’s words, this “very young woman, with an overpowering vision.”
In January 2022, Henry Holt will release Shields' new book, Lorraine Hansberry: The Life Behind 'A Raisin in the Sun,' the most comprehensive biography of, in James Baldwin’s words, this “very young woman, with an overpowering vision.”
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 4, 2015
Luke Arnold
Disaster can strike a city in many different ways and at different times. The book, “The Great Plague and Fire of London” is about the horrific Great Plague and the devastating Fire of London that wreaked havoc on a big city in a very little time period. Although the title is basic, it described exactly what the book was going to be about. As illustrated on the cover of the book, many significant buildings such as St. Paul’s Cathedral were severely burned. I think it was a great book cover, it made me eager to read the story. The author, Charles J Shields, is an American biographer, who was a high school teacher. He left his career to do independent writing. Shields primarily writes literary biographies, history and young adult nonfiction books. He wrote this book to inform us about the horrible things that happen to the people in London and how their town was destroyed by a fire. The story begins in mid December 1664, a doctor in London had a patient with a high fever and two walnut sized bumps on the inside of the patient's thigh. This is the first case of the Plague in London for many years. The city of London was a very dirty city with trash, waste and other disgusting items littered all over the streets. The air was thick and musty with pollution from its inhabitants. People were living in the dirty congested city of London. While this great epidemic was occurring rhymes such as the famous, “Ring Around the Rosey” were being sung to signify the swollen red rings that were appearing on their bodies. I enjoyed learning about how this nursery rhyme got its name. It was unfortunate that they had to sing about their illness. Londoners around the city started to buy “lucky charms” and other items in hope of good luck. If an unlucky person was caught with the plague they would have to stay locked in their house for 40 days. Once they were “locked” in their homes, a red cross was placed on the front door along with the words “God Have Mercy on this House”. Today, the “red cross” represents an organization that cares for sick people. The only way for these poor sick people to get food and water was if their friends or family slid it under doors or through windows. The great plague was so deadly that it killed as many as 8,828 people a week. On a daily bases members of the church would go around and collect the dead bodies. The bodies were then placed in pits that were 18 feet deep. Illustrations of the sick and dead people were very powerful, so many of them died, you felt very sorry for them when reading the story.
The Fire of London was another great disaster taking place no longer than a year after the plague ended. This catastrophe was very bad because almost all the buildings in London were made of timber, this caused the buildings to burn rapidly. The fire started when the King’s baker, Thomas Farrinor had a fire in his bakery. This raging fire lasted for 4 brutal days without any sign of it stopping. To try to stop the blaze volunteer firefighters stated to knock down or blow up buildings in effort to stop the fire from spreading past those structures. At the end of this devastating disaster four fifths of London’s structures were destroyed. The book jacket sparked my interest because I enjoy history and disasters and recently traveled to London. The book reveals much information on how disasters were handled hundreds of years ago, anyone who enjoys history would appreciate this book.
Disaster can strike a city in many different ways and at different times. The book, “The Great Plague and Fire of London” is about the horrific Great Plague and the devastating Fire of London that wreaked havoc on a big city in a very little time period. Although the title is basic, it described exactly what the book was going to be about. As illustrated on the cover of the book, many significant buildings such as St. Paul’s Cathedral were severely burned. I think it was a great book cover, it made me eager to read the story. The author, Charles J Shields, is an American biographer, who was a high school teacher. He left his career to do independent writing. Shields primarily writes literary biographies, history and young adult nonfiction books. He wrote this book to inform us about the horrible things that happen to the people in London and how their town was destroyed by a fire. The story begins in mid December 1664, a doctor in London had a patient with a high fever and two walnut sized bumps on the inside of the patient's thigh. This is the first case of the Plague in London for many years. The city of London was a very dirty city with trash, waste and other disgusting items littered all over the streets. The air was thick and musty with pollution from its inhabitants. People were living in the dirty congested city of London. While this great epidemic was occurring rhymes such as the famous, “Ring Around the Rosey” were being sung to signify the swollen red rings that were appearing on their bodies. I enjoyed learning about how this nursery rhyme got its name. It was unfortunate that they had to sing about their illness. Londoners around the city started to buy “lucky charms” and other items in hope of good luck. If an unlucky person was caught with the plague they would have to stay locked in their house for 40 days. Once they were “locked” in their homes, a red cross was placed on the front door along with the words “God Have Mercy on this House”. Today, the “red cross” represents an organization that cares for sick people. The only way for these poor sick people to get food and water was if their friends or family slid it under doors or through windows. The great plague was so deadly that it killed as many as 8,828 people a week. On a daily bases members of the church would go around and collect the dead bodies. The bodies were then placed in pits that were 18 feet deep. Illustrations of the sick and dead people were very powerful, so many of them died, you felt very sorry for them when reading the story.
The Fire of London was another great disaster taking place no longer than a year after the plague ended. This catastrophe was very bad because almost all the buildings in London were made of timber, this caused the buildings to burn rapidly. The fire started when the King’s baker, Thomas Farrinor had a fire in his bakery. This raging fire lasted for 4 brutal days without any sign of it stopping. To try to stop the blaze volunteer firefighters stated to knock down or blow up buildings in effort to stop the fire from spreading past those structures. At the end of this devastating disaster four fifths of London’s structures were destroyed. The book jacket sparked my interest because I enjoy history and disasters and recently traveled to London. The book reveals much information on how disasters were handled hundreds of years ago, anyone who enjoys history would appreciate this book.
April 15, 2016
It was a book with good intension but it only had hard core facts and it didn't have very many personal experiences. It was an ok book I just would probably not recommend it to someone who wants hardcore adventure. It also has A LOT of history and includes an event that is not talked about very often and is over looked by many. The one thing I hate is that it goes on forever in one moment, like a page for every day which no other book has done before. It also got boring after a while of reading ( no offense to the author ). All in all this book was not for me but I'm sure its for someone out there.
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May 18, 2017A very quick book to read but interesting and filled with good information (the mini versions) of the 1665 plague in London followed by the Great Fire of 1666. Good information to have before making that trip to London.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews