The Great Plague

by StephenPorter (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1999

  $3.24

  The Great Plague of 1665/6 is the best known epidemic in English history. This is partly because of its sheer scale, and partly because of the vivid evidence provided by Samuel Pepys. This study examines the origin, nature and impact of the plague and looks at contemporary opinions regarding its cause together with the measures taken by national and local government to restrict its spread and to deal with its victims.

• Used

  Paperback
  2003

  $3.75

  The bubonic plague epidemic which struck England in 1665-6 was responsible for the deaths of 20 per cent of London's population. Its sheer scale was overwhelming and it was well-recorded, featuring in the works of Pepys and Defoe and described in terrible detail in the contemporary Bills of Mortality. This book paints a portrait of a society threatened by a killer disease which it was powerless to control. Often remembered because of its devastating impact on London, the plague struck other urban communities as well, carrying off half the population of Colchester and causing high mortality in cities such as Norwich and Cambridge. Nor were country villages spared, with Eyam in Derbyshire - where the inhabitants sealed themselves off to prevent the spread of the disease and a third of the inhabitants died - being the most famous. This work describes the disease and how people at the time thought it was caused. It gives details of the treatments available (such as they were) and evokes its impact on the country. We will probably never know the reasons for the disappearance of the bubonic plague from England after 1665. What is clear is the fascination the subject still holds.