Dr. Johnson's London cover art

Dr. Johnson's London

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Dr. Johnson's London

By: Liza Picard
Narrated by: Fiona Shaw
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About this listen

 Like its popular and acclaimed predecessor, Restoration London, this book is the result of the author's passionate interest in the practical details of the everyday life of our ancestors, so often ignored in more conventional history books.

Based on every possible contemporary source (diaries, almanacs, newspapers, advice books, memoirs, government papers and reports), Liza Picard examines every aspect of life in London: the streets, houses and gardens; cooking, housework, laundry, and shopping; clothes and jewellery, cosmetics and hairdressing; medicine, sex, hobbies, education, and etiquette; religion and popular beliefs; law and crime. This book spans the years 1740 to 1770, starting when the gin craze was gaining ground and ending when the East Coast of America was still British.

©2000 Liza Picard (P)1999 Orion Publishing Group Ltd 18th Century Europe Great Britain Modern England

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Critic reviews

"Picard's writing is engaging and lucid, Fiona Shaw narrates with enthusiasm, and the book has been thoughtfully abridged." ( The Times)
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I wish it had been twice as long. I hope Ms Picard will consider doing the regency era as a follow up.

Too short. Really impressive detail and research

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Books like this make me wonder how humanity survived in the past - the dangers to one's life were truly unlimited, from poisonous medicine and food made life-threatening by cost-cutting production methods to a seemingly infinite array of health threats and illnesses and all the plain old dangers to one's safety when out and about in smoggy, disease-infested and crime-ridden London.
Liza Picard paints a vivid and fascinating picture of our capital, full of fascinating details and delicious tidbits. I love history and sometimes find myself romanticising whichever period I am obsessed with at that particular moment. Books by Liza Picard and Ruth Goodman are excellent reminders of the hardships the people of the past had to face every day, things that don't even cross my mind as I mindlessly enjoy all the advantages of this modern age.
"Dr Johnson's London" is an entertaining, breathtaking and delicious dive into the daily life of all sorts of Londoners between 1740 and 1770. Most recommended!

Entertaining, fascinating and delicious!

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