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1666

Plague, War and Hellfire

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About this listen

1666 was a watershed year for England. The outbreak of the Great Plague, the eruption of the second Dutch War and the Great Fire of London all struck the country in rapid succession and with devastating repercussions.

Shedding light on these dramatic events, historian Rebecca Rideal reveals an unprecedented period of terror and triumph. Based on original archival research and drawing on little-known sources, 1666: Plague, War and Hellfire takes listeners on a thrilling journey through a crucial turning point in English history, as seen through the eyes of an extraordinary cast of historical characters.

While the central events of this significant year were ones of devastation and defeat, 1666 also offers a glimpse of the incredible scientific and artistic progress being made at that time, from Isaac Newton's discovery of gravity to Robert Hooke's microscopic wonders. It was in this year that John Milton completed Paradise Lost, Frances Stewart posed for the now-iconic image of Britannia, and a young architect named Christopher Wren proposed a plan for a new London - a stone phoenix to rise from the charred ashes of the old city.

With flair and style, 1666 shows a city and a country on the cusp of modernity, and a series of events that forever altered the course of history.

Cover image: The Great Fire of 1666, detail of a coloured woodcut by Matthaus Merian the Younger, courtesy of Swiss Re Company Archives, SRCA 10.122.727.01.

©2016 Rebecca Rideal (P)2017 Audible, Ltd Europe Great Britain England War Middle Ages
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I have just listened to Pepys diaries 1663-1666 and this has been invaluable in answering the myriad of questions Pepys leaves you with. But even without reading Pepys this is a fascinating insight into one of most interesting years in English history. I have read crits of how the young lady reads this. I have no idea what they are talking about. As far as I am concerned this was read perfectly.

Answers so many questions

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The narrator has a soothing voice but her pronunciation is unnaturally precise. Despite this, she manages to race through the text and never varies her tone or rate of speech. I get the impression she’s not ‘listening’ to what she’s reading.

I think for this reason I found the book drawn out and in places tedious when perhaps it could have been gripping. In my opinion she was not a good choice for narrating this book.

Narration detracts

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Interesting details of some known but peripheral events of the era. Much enjoyed. The narration is clean, clear and pleasantly executed.

Most informative

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1066, 1666 dates that most English schoolchildren remember - the Battle of Hastings and the Great Fire of London. This book puts the fire into context of the times: the continual wars with the Dutch, alliances and conflicts with other European neighbors, the plague and finally from the ashes the Phoenix of the new London of bricks and mortar, a skyline dominated by Wren’s St Paul’s and his other churches which are still part of the fabric of London.

The story is a bit dry to begin with but soon becomes an absorbing tale of naval battles, the mounting numbers of plague deaths and the the great fire that for four days was master of the great city with extracts of eye witness accounts of these events including the inimitable Samuel Pepys.

I am not sure that it should have been a woman narrator, but it did remind the listener that the author was a woman with a scholarly but woman’s point of view of this period.

London, England

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An entertaining and informative testimony of the age, explored largely through the point of views of those who lived through it. As a historian, I already knew a fair bit about the time, yet I found myself frequently listening to details I'd never known. It takes us on a journey into the streets - and often living rooms - of Londoners dealing with changing mores in the arts and science, as well as the honeymoon uncertainty of a restored monarch. Then war, plague, more war, fire and yet more war, alongside resilience, lessons learned and rebuilding. I felt like I knew the individuals personally as their stories interwove into the whole telling. No dry history this, but an engaging one doing its job of testifying to tumult that unfolded and the changes that resonate to this day.

Fabulously Told, Humanising History

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