Great Plague of London

The Great Plague struck London in 1665 and killed tens of thousands. Houses were shut, trade was disrupted, the wealthy fled when they could, and poorer communities bore much of the suffering. The epidemic exposed fear, charity, suspicion and the limits of government control.

It mattered because it was a major social trauma just before the Great Fire. The plague changed daily rhythms, family life, burial practice and the experience of urban space. It also left a strong record in memory and writing.

Plague-era London appears in historical fiction and is useful background for Andrew Taylor’s Restoration settings and novels about medicine, household survival and civic fear. It suits stories about physicians, servants, watchmen, clergy, apprentices and families forced to choose between duty and flight.