the plague and the fire"The Plague and the Fire" By James Leasor is the true story of two disasters that struck the city of London in 1665 and 1666. Like most cities of the Middle Ages, London was lacking in even basic sanitation. Waste of all kinds was discarded into the street and there was little interest by the city government or ordinary citizens to clean it up. Filth attracted rats and mice, and old London had a large population of both.

Certain fleas that live on rats and mice can cause Bubonic Plague. Bubonic Plague is a dangerous disease that is named after the black swellings of those infected with the disease. At the time of the Middle Ages, there was virtually no treatment for Bubonic Plague or any knowledge of how it was spread. The London municipal government made the horrific decision to quarantine entire families even if only one member of the family was infected. This resulted in many needless deaths. There were no real hospitals to deal with the many that were sick, so the city government created "Pesthouses". Most that were ill resisted going to the pesthouses, because they believed correctly that the pesthouses were just places to die.

The plague ran its course in about a year and killed nearly 100 thousand people. The fire started soon after the abatement of the plague. It is believed that the fire started in a bakery. Fires were common in a city with no building codes and many wooden structures. Once again the city government and the royal family did little to prevent a disaster. By the time, the authorities realized how bad the fire was, it was too late. The Great London fire burned most of the city to the ground, but fortunately most people were able to escape. After the fire, new laws and building standards were passed to prevent another catastrophe.


The Plague and the Fire is an excellent history of a particular time and will interest even those who don't like reading history.