The Great Fire of London

There are a great many history texts on this event, not least because The Great Fire is a unit title in the UK History Scheme of Work for Years 2 and 3 (6-8 year-olds). This book, large enough to support group and possibly even class work, tells the story at a lively pace using familiar quotations from that well-known contemporary figure, Samuel Pepys. The causes of the fire, the reasons why the authorities failed to gain swift control over its progress and the changes which followed in the aftermath are all well explained. The illustrations include contemporary paintings and photographs of artefacts (for example of a leather bucket and a ‘hand-squirt’ of the sort used in 1666). These are well chosen and large enough for children to learn from and to find inspiration for their own drawing and writing. The frieze-like picture on the first double spread gives a splendid impression of a populous London and of houses built close enough together to make inevitable the fast spread of any fire that might break out. There are picture acknowledgements of course, but teachers might welcome some more detailed annotations or notes about the paintings and the artists to inform discussion.