September, 1666; carried by a strong east wind, in just four days Shakespeare’s London would disappear forever, consumed by a towering inferno.
Seventeenth century London was a scandalously populous city; scant care was given to the poor, and their dwellings were waterproofed solely by pitch.
It was only a matter of time before tragedy struck, and as a result a hundred thousand were left homeless, with many more imperilled through speculation and circumstance.
Bell goes on to point out that the Great Fire in fact may have been a mercy for London’s health, ridding her of the evils that had festered there for centuries.
The London that rose from the ashes in the following decades was different in everything that counted for human welfare, with contributions from many, including Christopher Wren.
A landmark text upon its original publication, within its evocative pages Bell uses Samuel Pepys’ Diary along with other documentation to offer an appreciation of what the Great Fire was, what it meant for London, for the people who lived there … and how she endured.
Walter George Bell F.R.A.S. (1867-1942) was an English historian and journalist. A keen astronomer from a young age, he contributed numerous articles on the subject to magazines and would continue to do produce such columns when he joined the Daily Telegraph. His candidacy for the Royal Astronomical Society was proposed in 1917. As a historian he was well-known for his works on the city of London.
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