First published about 1720, the fictional journal of a survivor of the London plague of 1664, written by a man who did (as a child) witness and survive that plague. Drawing on personal recollections and abundant contemporary material Defoe paints a vivid account of the unimaginable horror of the plague. Of times when the man with whom you did break fast might be seen on the death cart that even. Some did pray and some did party. "Eat drink and be merry for on the morrow you shall die" was a common response as was Devil worship as people felt they had been abandoned. Though written much later than the 16C we portray, medical science and public attitudes have not changed significantly making "A Journal of the Plague Year" a must for anyone interested in understanding, portraying or commenting on the plague or our 16C attitudes toward plague etc. A astonishing book from the hand of the author of Robinson Crusoe.

-back to the bookliste-