Daniel Defoe presents a meticulously detailed reconstruction of the 1665 Great Plague of London through the eyes of H.F., a saddler who remains in the city during the outbreak. The text serves as an early specimen of epidemiological reporting, documenting the progression of the Yersinia pestis infection across various parishes. Defoe describes the mechanical implementation of shut-up houses, the logistical burden of the dead-carts, and the statistical grimness of the Bills of Mortality. He focuses on the specific tension between public health mandates and human survival, detailing how city officials attempted to contain the contagion while citizens faced starvation or fled into the surrounding countryside.
The book serves researchers of medical history and readers interested in the social mechanics of a crisis. It provides a technical look at how urban infrastructure reacts to a biological threat, illustrating the breakdown of trade and the rise of empiricism over superstition. Readers gain a granular perspective on seventeenth-century sanitary measures and the psychological state of a population under quarantine. It is studied today for its fusion of data-driven observation and narrative realism, offering a blueprint for understanding the structural impact of a pandemic on a major metropolitan economy.
- Published
- 1722
- Language
- EN
