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Great Fire of London: A History from Beginning to End
Discover the devastating history of the Great Fire of London...
Free BONUS Inside!
In the summer of 1666, London was one of the largest cities in Europe, with close to half a million people living in its narrow, congested streets. Many of these people lived in houses packed closely together, lacking even basic facilities such as clean water and sewage disposal. The previous year, these unsanitary conditions had contributed to the worst outbreak of plague since the Black Death in 1348. Around 15% of the city’s population died as the deadly disease spread unchecked for almost twelve months. Finally, by the summer of 1666, the threat of plague seemed to be receding, and London slowly began to return to normal. But then, the city was threatened by another deadly fire.
London was a tinderbox waiting to ignite. Many of the city’s wooden buildings were sealed with flammable pitch, their upper stories jutting out and nearly meeting across the streets. An unusually hot and dry summer had drained the city’s water supplies, and without an organized firefighting force, its citizens were left to fend for themselves. The stage was set for catastrophe, and in the early hours of Sunday, September 2, 1666, the spark was struck. A seemingly inconsequential fire ignited in a baker’s shop on Pudding Lane. Unchecked and underestimated, it would grow to become one of the most devastating disasters London had ever faced.
Discover a plethora of topics such as A City at RiskSeptember 2: Pudding LaneSeptember 3: The Fire SpreadsSeptember 4: A Change of WindSeptember 5 & 6: The Fire Dies DownRebuildingAnd much more!
So if you want a concise and informative book on the Great Fire of London, simply scroll up and click the "Buy now" button for instant access!
Free BONUS Inside!
In the summer of 1666, London was one of the largest cities in Europe, with close to half a million people living in its narrow, congested streets. Many of these people lived in houses packed closely together, lacking even basic facilities such as clean water and sewage disposal. The previous year, these unsanitary conditions had contributed to the worst outbreak of plague since the Black Death in 1348. Around 15% of the city’s population died as the deadly disease spread unchecked for almost twelve months. Finally, by the summer of 1666, the threat of plague seemed to be receding, and London slowly began to return to normal. But then, the city was threatened by another deadly fire.
London was a tinderbox waiting to ignite. Many of the city’s wooden buildings were sealed with flammable pitch, their upper stories jutting out and nearly meeting across the streets. An unusually hot and dry summer had drained the city’s water supplies, and without an organized firefighting force, its citizens were left to fend for themselves. The stage was set for catastrophe, and in the early hours of Sunday, September 2, 1666, the spark was struck. A seemingly inconsequential fire ignited in a baker’s shop on Pudding Lane. Unchecked and underestimated, it would grow to become one of the most devastating disasters London had ever faced.
Discover a plethora of topics such as A City at RiskSeptember 2: Pudding LaneSeptember 3: The Fire SpreadsSeptember 4: A Change of WindSeptember 5 & 6: The Fire Dies DownRebuildingAnd much more!
So if you want a concise and informative book on the Great Fire of London, simply scroll up and click the "Buy now" button for instant access!
105 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 29, 2023
97 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Hourly History
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 11, 2024
A good sketch of the cause and effects of the London fire of 1666. I read an excerpt from Samuel Pepys' journal account of the fire. I was surprised to learn how low the death total was. The fire also cause Londoners to adopt better building and fire prevention protocols.
January 12, 2024
Quick Read
If you only need a basic understanding of London's great fire of 1666, this will suffice. The writing is acceptable although there are instances of awkward phrasing and poor word choices. It does inspire one to read Samuel Plays diaries!
If you only need a basic understanding of London's great fire of 1666, this will suffice. The writing is acceptable although there are instances of awkward phrasing and poor word choices. It does inspire one to read Samuel Plays diaries!
July 28, 2024
Great author if you want to learn about events in smaller books!
January 11, 2024
The Great London Fire
I had always heard about this fire, but outside of school, I had never read anything about it. This book goes into quite some detail about how vast the devastation was throughout the City. The amount of buildings lost was horrible, but the loss of life was most terrifying. It makes me glad to live in the 21st Century with more safety for such records we have, such as birth and death. One good reason to backup your computer! To me, being an amateur medieval historian, the loss of the medieval buildings was great indeed. I thank the writers, producers and editors for the Hourly History books.
I had always heard about this fire, but outside of school, I had never read anything about it. This book goes into quite some detail about how vast the devastation was throughout the City. The amount of buildings lost was horrible, but the loss of life was most terrifying. It makes me glad to live in the 21st Century with more safety for such records we have, such as birth and death. One good reason to backup your computer! To me, being an amateur medieval historian, the loss of the medieval buildings was great indeed. I thank the writers, producers and editors for the Hourly History books.
November 4, 2025
The Fire was bad but the book was good
On flight back from London I read an enjoyed the book. it’s gives a nice background to, account of , and description of the impact of the Great Fire. Tge only thing I would say that could be improved is to provide map(s) relating to the event. Otherwise an enlightening and enjoyable read.
On flight back from London I read an enjoyed the book. it’s gives a nice background to, account of , and description of the impact of the Great Fire. Tge only thing I would say that could be improved is to provide map(s) relating to the event. Otherwise an enlightening and enjoyable read.
November 19, 2023
Fascinating
Short but packed with information. As with most governments, England ignored serious problems until they exploded costing thousands of lives and loss of much of London's heritage. Good presentation of the causes for the extensive damage and fatalities.
Short but packed with information. As with most governments, England ignored serious problems until they exploded costing thousands of lives and loss of much of London's heritage. Good presentation of the causes for the extensive damage and fatalities.
December 31, 2023
5⭐
A short well written easy to read book about The Great Fire Of London.
A fab book to end 2023 on.
Packed full of information and really educational.
Adore history and this was just fab, will be reading more in the series .
Would recommend 💕
A short well written easy to read book about The Great Fire Of London.
A fab book to end 2023 on.
Packed full of information and really educational.
Adore history and this was just fab, will be reading more in the series .
Would recommend 💕
November 3, 2023
Another fascinating read
Truly absorbing. A very good version of events that burnt London to a crisp. Very informative supported with excellent writing. Easy to read.
Truly absorbing. A very good version of events that burnt London to a crisp. Very informative supported with excellent writing. Easy to read.
November 4, 2023
Short quick and as thorough as I wanted. This is my first "Hourly History" book and I will certainly dive into others.
November 5, 2023
Wonderful Bites of History!
I had no idea!! I have loved this series. They have opened my eyes to so many things! Thank you
I had no idea!! I have loved this series. They have opened my eyes to so many things! Thank you
November 15, 2023
Nothing like a fire to clean house
London must have similar to other large European cities at that date. I’m surprised that there weren’t more great fires.
London must have similar to other large European cities at that date. I’m surprised that there weren’t more great fires.
November 29, 2023
Outstanding information
This is a good read on
understanding the great fire 🔥 of London and how a tragedy helped London to be reborn
This is a good read on
understanding the great fire 🔥 of London and how a tragedy helped London to be reborn
December 21, 2023
A look at the great fire of london. A good read.
January 10, 2024
interesting history
This is the story of how London changed from a crowded dirty infested city to a cleaner, safer and less crowded city because of a fire. Great read
This is the story of how London changed from a crowded dirty infested city to a cleaner, safer and less crowded city because of a fire. Great read
January 10, 2024
A look at a fascinating period of London history when the city was destroyed by a devastating fire in 1666, and how what was learned from the disaster to improve future city living conditions.
February 10, 2024
Nice, short read which sets the scene before the fire and what happened during it.
April 3, 2024
Boring
Kind of boring, but interesting how people lived back than. The threat of fire would be pretty scary. Good read.
Kind of boring, but interesting how people lived back than. The threat of fire would be pretty scary. Good read.
November 9, 2024
Informative
Again my meagre knowledge of a subject has been much improved by a very well written concise document that has increased my understanding of another historical event.
Again my meagre knowledge of a subject has been much improved by a very well written concise document that has increased my understanding of another historical event.
April 9, 2024
Compressed but very informative.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews