Generations of Londoners from Roman times to the present day have confronted natural and man-made threats to their city. Disasters, rebellions, riots, acts of terror and war have marked the long history of the capital ? and have shaped the character of its people. In this evocative account Jonathan Oates recalls in vivid detail the perils Londoners have faced and describes how they coped with them. The Black Death and outbreaks of cholera, Jack Cade's Rebellion and the Gordon Riots, the Great Plague and the Great Fire, Zeppelin raids, the Blitz, terrorist bombings ? these are just a few of the extraordinary hazards that have torn the fabric of the city and wrecked the lives of so many of its inhabitants. This gripping narrative gives a fascinating insight into the tragic history of the city and it reveals much about the changing attitudes of Londoners over the centuries. AUTHOR: Dr. Jonathan Oates is the Ealing Borough Archivist and Local History Librarian, and he has written and lectured on aspects of the history of London, including its criminal past. His books include Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Ealing, Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Lewisham and Deptford and Unsolved Murders in Victorian and Edwardian London. He is also an authority on the Jacobite rebellions of 1714 and 1745 and recently published Sweet William of The Butcher? The Duke of Cumberland and the '45. SELLING POINTS: - How natural and man-made threats have menaced Londoners over the centuries - Plague, fire, cholera, rebellions, riots, enemy attacks, terrorism - Graphic eyewitness accounts give a first-hand view of each crisis - Insight into the history of London and its people ILLUSTRATIONS 30 illustrations
