London's Plague And Fire

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29856, 23 June 1962, Page 3

London's Plague And Fire

The Plague And The Fire. By James Leasor. George Allen and Unwin. 270 pp. In an age of advanced medical science and of widespread knowledge of the rules of hygiene, the squalor,; of the life of most of the inhabitants of the City of London in 1665. as related in this book, will appal readers. Mr Leasor tells of the outbreak of bubonic plague which occurred at the time, and which affected other parts of the country as well. In the 446 acres of the . City it accounted for nearly 70,000 recorded deaths in a few months, but Mr Leasor thinks that the actual number was very much larger, and quotes a contemporary statement that the plague carried off about 200,000 persons in the whole country.

Mr Leasor gives an abundance of grisly detail of this

horrible visitation, which was aggravated by the prevailing Ignorance of its causes and the proper remedies. We read of the symptoms of the disease, of the fantasmc suggestions for its prevention and cure, of the appalling agonies of the sufferers and the brutalities practised by those whose duty it was to deal with the plague and its consequences. Whole families were locked up under guard inside infected houses to prevent the contamination of others. The plague was brought by flees and rats, yet one of the preventive measures was the destruction of cats and dogs, and people thought that the burning of “noxious materials” indoors would purify the tainted air. At one stage it was thought that the plague might be banished by the lighting of enormous fires in the streets. It is surprising that the Great Fire was delayed until the following year. Fear and ignorance bred selfishness and crime. All who could afford to leave the stricken city departed at speed, and as the news of the plague became known in the countryside the refugees met hostility there. There were exceptions, of course, to the general panic, and it is refreshing to read of the enlightened apothecary Who advocated cleanliness and temperance. He continued to visit his patients and happily survived. Mr Leasor also rightly devotes a chapter to the heroic behaviour of the people of the small Derbysire village of Eyam, which caught the plague from London and by voluntarily isolating itself suffered terrible losses. The harrowing story of disease occupies two-thirds of Mr Lessor’s narrative. The remainder is concerned with the Great Fire which broke out in a bakery in September. 1666. and in a few days destroyed over 13.000 bouses. The total loss was estimated at £lO million, but was probably far more. Even though there was very little loss of life, it is another terrifying story, for there were no fire brigades in those days, and very few fire-fighting appliances The water supply also failed, and the flames were fanned by a strong wind, so once again the people were powerless in the grip of a disaster which they could not control This time there were rumours of foreign sabotage, and the sequel was the lamentable hanging of a French scapegoat on insufficient evidence Mr Leasor tells a vivid tale, and the book contains 12 effective black - and - white illustrations by H. B Grimley, as well as an extensive bibliography.