The Dreadful Judgement

The Dreadful Judgement

by NeilHanson (Author)

Synopsis

If the story that struck the Grand Banks off Newfoundland in October 1991 was The Perfect Storm, the fire that destroyed London in September 1666 was The Perfect Fire. A fire needs only three things: a spark to ignite it, and the fuel and oxygen to feed it. In 1666, a ten-month drought had turned London into a tinderbox. The older parts of the city were almost entirely composed of wood-frame buildings and shanties. The riverside wharves were stack with wood, coal, oil, tallow, hemp, pitch, brandy, and almost very other combustible material known to seventeenth century man. On 2 September 1666, London ignited. Over the next five days the gale blew without interruption and the resulting firestorm destroyed the whole city. THE DREADFUL JUDGEMENT tells the true, human story of the Great Fire of London through the eyes of the individuals caught up in it. It is a historical story combining modern knowledge of the physics of fire, forensics and arson investigation with the moving eye-witness accounts to produce a searing depiction of the terrible reality of the Great Fire of London and its impact on those who lived through-it.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 448
Edition: New edition
Publisher: Corgi
Published: 01 Sep 2002

ISBN 10: 0552147893
ISBN 13: 9780552147897
Book Overview: A great iconic moment in the history of London turned terrific human disaster story.

Media Reviews
Popular narrative history at its best, well researched, imaginatively and dramatically written. -- Times Literary Supplement Hanson's prose is animated by the ferocious energy of the fire and seems to be guided by its inexorable movement. He creates the literary equivalent of the special effects in a disaster movie. -- Daily Telegraph
Author Bio
Neil Hanson has worked as a holiday-camp redcoat, run several art and photo galleries, travelled round the world twice, edited THE GOOD BEER GUIDE and a sports newspaper, owned the highest pub in Britain, written for every British national newspaper and for media throughout the world. He has written thirty books, some under his own name and others under various noms de plume. He lives in Yorkshire with his family.