Episode
London Revisited: Pepys, Plague and Fire
- Podcast
- Close Readings
- Published
- Aug 10, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1500
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
The restoration of the monarchy in 1660 brought a flurry of changes to London life. Women were allowed to appear on stage for the first time, the Royal Society was founded and the West End, with its squares, parks and fashionable ‘season’, was born. But the social whirl stopped abruptly in 1665 with the arrival of plague, which was followed in 1666 by the catastrophic Great Fire of London. To talk about these events and the new city that emerged from the ashes, Rosemary is again joined by Vanessa Harding, emerita professor of London history at Birkbeck. They look at the invaluable observations of Samuel Pepys, the continental ambitions of Christopher Wren and the emergence of political parties from the succession crisis of the 1680s. Reading by Duncan Wilkins Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up: Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/applesignuplr Other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/scsignuplr Further reading in the LRB: Margaret Anne Doody on Aphra Behn: https://lrb.me/lrep801 Deborah Friedell on Samuel Pepys: https://lrb.me/lrep802 Simon Schaffer on Christopher Wren: https://lrb.me/lrep803 James Shapiro on plague writing: https://lrb.me/lrep804 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices