"Part novel and part autobiography, The Great Fire of London originates in the author's determination to come to terms with the sudden death of his young wife Alix, whose absence haunts every page. Paralyzed by grief, and having failed to complete the novel he had wanted to write, Jacques Roubaud begins a book about that very failure. He submerges his love and his sorrow in meditations that range from despair to playfulness, taking slow and painful steps toward surviving his great loss."--BOOK JACKET.

'With one's face in the wind you were almost burned with a shower of Firedrops' A selection from Pepys' startlingly vivid and candid diary, including his famous account of the Great Fire Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.

A simple and dramatic introduction to the Great Fire of London in 1666 - what caused it, how it spread, how it was put out and how the city was rebuilt. Colourful illustrations on every page help bring history to life, along with maps and photographs of historical evidence and simple informative text. Ideal for homework and school projects - the Great Fire of London is now a compulsory National Curriculum topic for history at Key Stage 2.

The Great Fire of London was the greatest catastrophe of its kind in Western Europe. Although detailed fire precautions and fire-fighting arrangements were in place, the fire raged for four days and destroyed 13,200 houses, 87 churches and 44 of the City of London's great livery halls. The 'great fire' of 1666 closely followed by the 'great plague' of 1665; as the antiquary Anthony Wood wrote left London 'much impoverished, discontented, afflicted, cast downe'. In this comprehensive account, Stephen Porter examines the background to 1666, events leading up to and during the fire, the proposals to rebuild the city and the progress of the five-year programme which followed. He places the fire firmly in context, revealing not only its destructive impact on London but also its implications for town planning, building styles and fire precautions both in the capital and provincial towns.

Acclaim for The Great Fire of London "Popular narrative history at its best, well researched, imaginatively and dramatically written. . . . The author marshals his story and his mass of contemporary quotations with great skill." —Times Literary Supplement "The brilliance of its narrative chapters . . . a marvelous eye for evocative detail. Hanson’s prose is animated by the ferocious energy of the fire and seems to be guided by its inexorable movement. He creates the literary equivalent of the special effects in a disaster movie. . . . A rich mixture of imagination and research." —The Daily Telegraph (London) "He writes with knowledge and verve. As if making a television documentary on a natural disaster, he includes a gripping technical chapter on the mechanism and chemistry of combustion. This works brilliantly. . . . The book gains immeasurably from the author's eye for detail and from his understanding of the beliefs and prejudices of the day. . . . Informative and lively account." —The Sunday Times (London) "The best depiction of the Great Fire seen to date. . . . He manages to describe not only the atmosphere of the event itself, but also the experience of living in seventeenth-century Britain." —Soho Independent "A riveting book for those who like their history with a bit of mystery." —The Brisbane News "A rollicking good yarn." —The Age (Melbourne) "Blends high-class original research with a narrative style that mimics fiction. . . . Horrific subjects have served this man well and he has a knack for plugging into the dark themes that run like molten rivers beneath our social veneer." —New Zealand Herald "Neil Hanson’s descriptions of the inferno are like CNN reports from Kosovo." —Camden New Journal "It's not the technical data which makes the book so riveting though. It's the flair with which Hanson invests his account with qualities usually reserved for novels–narrative drive, persuasive character sketches, vivid scene stealing." —Sunday Star Times (New Zealand)

The Great Fire of 1666 was one of the greatest catastrophes to befall London in its long history. While its impact on London and its built environment has been studied and documented, its impact on Londoners has been overlooked. This book makes full and systematic use of the wealth of manuscript sources that illustrate social, economic and cultural change in seventeenth-century London to examine the impact of the Fire in terms of how individuals and communities reacted and responded to it, and to put the response to the Fire in the context of existing trends in early modern England. The book also explores the broader effects of the Fire in the rest of the country, as well as how the Great Fire continued to be an important polemical tool into the eighteenth century.

In 1666, London's citizens woke to see the skyline above their city's cramped wooden houses ablaze. The Great Fire of London is a hauntingly beautiful visual re-telling of one of the most well-known disasters in the city's history. To commemorate the 350th anniversary of the fire, powerful and sumptuous drawings from the new east London illustrator, James Weston Lewis, bring the events of November 1666 to life in this stunning gift book. Lewis's drawings take readers on a journey, from the single smouldering coal that falls out of the baker's oven to the swirling clouds of ash that engulf the city and then in to the very heart of the fire itself. As the pages turn, you can witness London burning to the ground and then rebuilding again. Children will love examining the rich detail of each spread, from the detailed city map to the drawings of London before, during and after the fire took hold. This book takes the dramatic historical information surrounding the Great Fire of London and transforms it into a breathtaking story that will transfix readers of all ages.

This book combines good quality artwork and contemporary illustrations with simple, well-written text. Young readers will discover how the fire started, what devastation it caused and will be able to compare fire-fighting in 1666 to the present day. Photos of artefacts and original illustrations help bring the topic to life.

Vlad and the Great Fire of London is a full colour, 32 page fiction picture book. Supporting the KS1 English National Curriculum topic it is narrated by Vlad the flea. Vlad and his friend, Boxton the rat are living in London when one night by witness the start of the fire that destroys most of the City of London. The book also contains a fact file.