Book description
If the story that struck the Grand Banks off Newfoundland in October
1991 was The Perfect Storm, the fire that destroyed London in
September 1666 was The Perfect Fire.
A fire needs only three things: a spark to ignite it, and the fuel
and oxygen to feed it. In 1666, a ten-month drought had turned London
into a tinderbox. The older parts of the city were almost entirely
composed of wood-frame buildings and shanties. The riverside wharves
were stack with wood, coal, oil, tallow, hemp, pitch, brandy, and
almost very other combustible material known to seventeenth century
man. On 2 September 1666, London ignited. Over the next five days the
gale blew without interruption and the resulting firestorm destroyed
the whole city.
THE DREADFUL JUDGEMENT tells the true, human story of the Great Fire
of London through the eyes of the individuals caught up in it. It is a
historical story combining modern knowledge of the physics of fire,
forensics and arson investigation with the moving eye-witness accounts
to produce a searing depiction of the terrible reality of the Great
Fire of London and its impact on those who lived through it.
Neil Hanson is the author of many acclaimed works of narrative
history. He lives in Yorkshire with his family.
