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    Journal of the Plague Year
    Journal of the Plague Year
    Journal of the Plague Year
    Audiobook10 hours

    Journal of the Plague Year

    Written by Daniel Defoe

    Narrated by Andrew Cullum

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    First published in March 1722, 57 years after the event that struck more than 100,000 people, Journal of the Plague Year is a compelling portrait of life during London's horrific bubonic plague. Through the eyes of H.F. (speculated to be Defoe's uncle, Henry Foe, from whose journals the book was supposedly adapted) we witness great grief, depravity and despair: crazed sufferers roam the streets, unearthly screams resound across the city, death carts dump their grisly loads into mass graves, and quackery and skulduggery feed on fear. But there is kindness and courage too, as mutual support and caring are upheld through the worst of days.

    Defoe's Journal is considered one of the most accurate accounts of the plague, and includes many contemporary theories about the disease, along with rolls of the dead and a literary mapping of London, street by street, parish by parish. It is a fascinating and intimate account from one of the earliest proponents of the novel.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNaxos Audiobooks
    Release dateNov 9, 2018
    ISBN9781781981771
    Author

    Daniel Defoe

    Daniel Defoe was born at the beginning of a period of history known as the English Restoration, so-named because it was when King Charles II restored the monarchy to England following the English Civil War and the brief dictatorship of Oliver Cromwell. Defoe’s contemporaries included Isaac Newton and Samuel Pepys.

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    Reviews for Journal of the Plague Year

    4.5/5

    28 ratings4 reviews

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    • 5/5
      An amazing correlation between this plague and ours today. What have we actually learned?

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      If you can get past the initial listing of the death statistics — which are interesting but go on for a long time —you will be rewarded with very pertinent observations of how the city of London dealt humanely and fairly effectively with the plague, the plight of the poor, and the consequential loss of jobs. And also some interesting anecdotes, such as the description of the group of people who managed to leave London and go and live in Epping Forest thanks to the improvisational skills of members of their party. The narrator is astonishingly good at making the dry information come alive and flow.
    • 5/5
      An incredibly detailed account of Great Plague of 1665 in London. Compelling in it’s humanity and intelligence, it is remarkably relevant to the current situation now in 2020, the year of COVID!
    • 5/5
      Well read, fascinating account of the 1665 plague in London. On the whole I prefer Pepys's for the chronology and candour, but consider this an excellent contrast and supplement. The lists of infections and deaths throughout may have been tedious to me a few years ago, but during this pandemic they are fascinating! We are all watching the statistics rise and fall in different places at different times, watching doctors (and quacks) conclude upon different remedies at different times.

      It is uncanny how in chapter 55 people's behaviour mirrors how people are acting today with Omicron and vaccines (oh, less risk, everything's fine, lalala). Worth a listen, especially right now!