The Restoration period is one of my favourites in English/British history. It is sadly ignored for its Tudor predecessor much of the time, but people are absolutely shortchanging the period. There is a fascinating monarch on the throne, and whether or not you love him or hate him, he ushered in a lot of changes. Swinging from Oliver Cromwell to the Merry Monarch led to a very different London. And there is nothing like immersing yourself in a different time to escape wherever you are (including lockdown/isolation…) Today’s book bite is one of my favourite guides, Restoration London by Liza Picard!
Restoration London was the beginning of many things we know and enjoy today. Restoration theatre is a fascinating subject, one that I recommend everyone dive into. It was topical and risque and almost feels a bit like a Saturday Night Live sketch. And with the Great Fire of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral as we know it today was born. And Liza Picard is the perfect guide to lead you through Restoration London…
Restoration London: Everyday Life in the 1660s, Liza Picard
Making use of every possible contemporary source diaries, memoirs, advice books, government papers, almanacs, even the Register of Patents Liza Picard presents a picture of how life in London was really lived in the 1600s: the houses and streets, gardens and parks, cooking, clothes and jewellery, cosmetics, hairdressing, housework, laundry and shopping, medicine and dentistry, sex, education, hobbies, etiquette, law and crime, religion and popular beliefs.
Picard has four of these guides- Elizabethan London, Restoration London, Dr. Johnson’s London, and Victorian London. They are all wonderful, and I would recommend reading them all when you have a chance. But Restoration London: Everyday Life in London 1660-1670 is my favourite.1660-1670 was a decade of complete upheaval in London and England as a whole. The monarchy is restored with the larger-than-life Charles II. The Great Fire of 1666 decimates much of London. And technology continues to evolve. There are many of these historical period guides, but I think that Picard’s are the strongest. She focuses on everyday life for the middle and lower classes, not only one group. And she has a wonderful way with sources that brings you into the period without going overboard. This needs to be your next read!
Have you read Restoration London by Liza Picard?
Cheers,
The Historian
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