The Great Fire of London: In That Apocalyptic Year, 1666

315 Pages·2002·4.69 MB·English

by  Neil Hanson

The Great Fire of London
Also by Neil Hanson
The Custom of the Sea
Goldfinder (with Keith Jessop)
The Great Fire
of London
in that apocalyptic year, 1666
N E I L H A N S O N
John Wiley & Sons,Inc.
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Copyright © 2001,2002 by Neil Hanson.All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley & Sons,Inc,Hoboken,New Jersey
This book in a substantially different form under the title The Dreadful Judgementwas first
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Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Hanson,Neil.
The Great Fire of London :in that apocalyptic year,1666 / Neil Hanson.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-471-21822-7 (acid-free paper)
1. Great Fire,London,England,1666. 2. London (England)—History—17th century.
I. Title.
DA681 .H32 2002
942.1'2066—dc21
2002071329
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Lynn, Jack, and Drew
The Great Fire as foreseen by Will Lilly in Hieroglyphicks.
Contents
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
1 Repent or Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 The Hellish Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
3 The Lodge of All Combustibles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
4 A Lake of Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
5 A Hideous Storm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
6 Outlandish Men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
7 A Sign of Wrath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
8 The Fires of Hell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
9 Clamor and Peril . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
10 Firestorm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
11 A Dismal Desert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
12 The Fatal Contrivance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179
13 The Duke of Exeter’s Daughter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201
14 The Triple Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215
15 The Wastelands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227
16 Dust to Dust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265
Illustration Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287
vii

Glossary
Ballers Ruffians,hoods,rakes,who roamed the streets in
gangs
Basset A card game
Bavins Brushwood
Bearers Carriers ofthe dead to the plague pits
Bellman Watchman patrolling the city streets calling the hour
Bridge London Bridge
Buboes Inflamed glandular swellings,proofpositive ofthe
plague
Chaldron Volumetric measure for coals,approximately equal to
thirty-six bushels
Close-stool Lavatory
Coney burrow Haunt ofprostitutes
Cookshop Shop selling food where the customer’s own meat
could also be cooked
Dancers of the ropes Tightrope walkers
French pox Syphilis
Gallant Man offashion
Garnish Bribe paid by prisoners to jailers
Grenado Grenade
Halberd Combined spear and battle-ax
Herbs Salad greens
ix