A Journal of the Plague Year
Daniel Defoe
(George Routledge and Sons, July 6, 1950)
Being Observations or Memorials of the Most Remarkable Occurrances As Well Public as Private Whch Happened in London During the Last Great Visitation in 1665. Yellow glazed cloth, gilt spine lettering on green field, green top stain; 264 pp; illustrated dust jacket. A limited edition of 2000 copies. Illustrated with 8 full-page black and white drawings by Leslie Atkinson. Atkinson's illustratons are done in a style appropriate to the period and reflect the horror of the plague in the city. This was a brilliant work by Defoe, who was just a young child in 1665. He drew on contemporary accounts, official documents and plain hearsay, and produced a compellingly vivid account of the horrible year. This was the worst year of the Black Death in England; by July, more than 1,000 deaths a week were reported in London. The Great London Fire of 1666 finally put an end to the epidemic.