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Restoration London

Everyday Life in the 1660s

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About this listen

From poverty to pets, from medicine to magic, from slang to sex, from wallpaper to women's rights. A glorious portrait of life in London from 1660-1670 by the bestselling author of ELIZABETH'S LONDON. Making use of every possible contemporary source - diaries, memoirs, advice books, government papers, almanacs, even the Register of Patents - Liza Picard presents an enthralling picture of how life in London was really lived in the 1600s: the houses and streets, gardens and parks, cooking, clothes and jewellery, cosmetics, hairdressing, housework, laundry and shopping, medicine and dentistry, sex, education, hobbies, etiquette, law and crime, religion and popular beliefs.

©2011 Liza Picard (P)2011 Orion Audio Europe Great Britain Sociology England Middle Ages Medicine

Critic reviews

"A beautifully produced reference work" ( Rose Tremain, Financial Times)
All stars
Most relevant
this book is read very expressively and kept my interest throughout. it evokes the squalor and grandure of restoration England giving anecdotes and carefully researched detail on each topic.

wonderfully derailed description of a bygone age

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I knew quite a lot about the tudors, but almost nothing about the 17th century restoration of the monarchy, so I really enjoyed this social history, which is both well written and well read.

an excellent book, well read

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A well written and read, very informative book. Filled with facts and information about the Restoration. Liza Picard has brought the whole era to life with characters of all stations of life made very real and easy to emphasise with.

Return of the Stuart's.

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This is another excellent book from Liza Picard, taking us through the intricacies of life during the Restoration. No detail is too small to mention and the effect is a beautifully vivid picture of day to day living in the 17th century.
This is my third outing with Liza Picard and I’m fully bought in with whatever she intends to tackle next. Her depictions of historical life are so colourful without ever being fanciful. A word too for Sean Barrett’s wonderful narration which is perfectly in pitch and timbre for this subject. If I could give it six out of five stars, I would.

Liza Picard never fails to thrill

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What disappointed you about Restoration London?

Poor grammar, lack of research. Nothing new here. Just a well worn history book. Lazy.

What could Liza Picard have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Do some research and give us some interesting facts that everyone didn't know before.

What does Sean Barrett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Excellent reader. Made the book listenable, till the frustration set in with all of the above.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Restoration London?

Re-write and do sone research instead of gleaning the work of others.

School Book

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