Restoration: 1666: A Year in Britain

by Alexander Larman

In an England inhabited by Pepys, Evelyn, Dryden, Hobbes and the young Isaac Newton, Charles II is king, and the nation is beginning to relax a little after the tough, joyless years of Cromwell's Protectorate. In RESTORATION, Alex Larman paints a fascinating portrait of a country in the throes of social, political and cultural change following the convulsions of the Interregnum. Exploring every level of English society, from innkeepers and upholsterers to lawyers and courtiers, and examining themes as diverse as marriage, sexuality and religion, he creates a pointilliste and multi-faceted portrait of Restoration England. By looking at the year 1666 through the eyes of the people of the time, by revealing what they ate and drank, how they loved, lived and died and how they interacted, Alex Larman brings alive the England of 300 years ago as you have never seen it exciting, tangible, and fully comprehensible.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

305 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 7, 2016

About the author

Alexander Larman is an author, historian and journalist. After reading English at Oxford, from where he graduated with a First, he ghost-wrote and edited various memoirs and biographies, including the late artist and flâneur Sebastian Horsley’s Dandy In The Underworld. His involvement with the book led Horsley to say ‘there is no man in London more capable of genius – or a flop – than Alexander Larman’.

He began his own writing career with Blazing Star (Head of Zeus, 2014), a biography of the 17th century poet and libertine Lord Rochester, and followed this with Restoration (Head of Zeus, 2016) a social history of the year 1666, and Byron’s Women (Head of Zeus, 2016), an ‘anti-biography’ of the poet Lord Byron and the significant women in his life. His next book, The Crown in Crisis (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2020) was a revisionist history of the abdication saga. It was selected by the Times, Daily Mail and Daily Express as one of their best books of the year and led to significant international media coverage of the new revelations about the event.

As a journalist, Larman regularly contributes to titles including The Observer, The Critic, the Daily Telegraph, The Spectator and The Chap, for which he serves as literary editor. He lives in Oxford with his wife and daughter.

Reviews

[Katherine Wacker · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Alexander Larman’s, Restoration: 1666: The Year of the Great Fire, the author begins by chronicling the ascension of King Charles II to the throne after languishing in exile due to his father’s execution by Oliver Cromwell. The book continues by examining aspects of British culture, science, and social change, as well as describing the different classes of society and how they lived their daily lives. The work concludes by detailing the great fire that threatened to destroy London and the lives surrounding it.


Restoration: 1666 is far from a dry tome. Larman’s engaging style turns the historical narrative into a page-turning read. It is a well-written and well-researched volume, accessible and balanced in its approach. The book is not meant to be an in-depth study, but a brief overview of a year in the life of British society. A few objectionable words are distracting and clutter the text, but this should not discredit the entire account. The last chapter dealing with the Great Fire does seem to drag a bit, and the Kindle edition I received made the footnotes at the end of each chapter difficult to assimilate with the rest of the text.


However, Restoration: 1666: The Year of the Great Fire is an entertaining way to acquaint oneself with British history, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.



I was given a free copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

[E Vikander · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drawn from contemporary sources, and with end notes that provide explanations and additional details, Restoration provides a narrative of the tumultuous events that occurred in England 350 years ago in 1666. In addition to the restoration of the monarchy (King Charles II), the book also provides an overview of transportation, religion, science, plague, fashion, entertainment, crime and punishment, and foreign affairs, among others. Surprisingly, one of the most defining events of 1666—the Great Fire of London—is the last chapter. Perhaps it is just as well, since it is one of the weaker chapters. The value of this book is the breadth of topics discussed, as it does not provide much depth.

[J David]

An accessible snapshot of Restoration England, 1666 A Year in Britain is a lively story of an England in which Isaac Newton sees an apple fall from a tree, Eyam in Derbyshire becomes the famous quarantined plague village and Charles II is a “suave and all-welcoming figurehead”. The book is divided into lisible chapters on “King and Court”, “Science and Superstition”, “Going Out” etc. It is a real good read if somewhat serious. I heartily recommend this book for lovers of British history.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The history of England of the 1660's, for example the fashions of the day, the battles, the Great Fire and the political, social and economic issues.
An interesting read but I do wish that end-notes would be incorporated into the text and not at the end of the chapters, not just for this book but all kindles.

[Michael Bully · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seems to have been written at a rushed pace with the Plague, Fire, Charles II's mistresses, the Anglo-Dutch war ,Samuel Pepys, the rise of John Dryden as a poet, are all featured in what seemed to be quite a short book. Entertaining, enjoyable , but not particularly challenging .There seemed to be a lack of analysis. Never felt that the writer got down to discuss the state of religion , the economy in any great depth, how the society of the time simply worked and functioned. I can imagine that serious students of the Restoration would not be impressed. Found the book very centred round London and surrounding region....not sure why book is sub titled 'A Year in Britain'.

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting read, covering one of my favourite periods and places. Restoration London has been written about many times, but the approach here is to theme each chapter, not just tell the stories chronologically, and it adds something different. There is perhaps an excessive reliance on Pepys, but his work is so authoritative I guess it’s hard as an author not to rely on it.
Well written, and should appeal to novices and experts alike.

[Claire Biggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

While an interesting read into the lives of all class and society in London 1666, with excerpts from Samuel Pepys's diary covering all areas of Charles II, Food, Clothes, Entertainment etc... The great fire isn't really mentioned until the last chapter so the title is a little misleading, don't read if you are thinking it is about the Great Fire as it isn't, it covers the Restoration of Charles II and the life of the people following his restoration

[Fran · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok, not the most enjoyable read I've had. Despite its title referring to the year of the Great Fire, only the end section is actually about that and the rest is a kind of resume of the period, the Restoration and all that, which I have read in several other books. It would be nice to see someone attempt to write something rather different about this time, from another angle or perspective. History can become so hackneyed, especially that of London.

[The enchanted bibliotaph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it. Larman has a very nice way and steady flow in writing, the narrative just goes by. The reader gets a good feel of the era.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Restoration details the day-to-day, the politics, culture, and dangers, of English life in the mid 1660s.

Charles II has retaken his father’s throne after 12 gruelling years of Cromwellian rule. His lavish lifestyle delights many (after the strictures of the commonwealth), but embitters others as they struggle for survival in an increasingly bankrupt country.

Quoting copiously from the ever-fascinating Pepys (and his contemporaries), Larman explores the whole scope of society, and its habits, in this refreshing overview of 17th-century England. He covers a diverse range of subjects (including foreign affairs, fashion, and religion), as well as the more obvious plague outbreaks and the great fire of London. For what could have been the dullest of subjects, his writing style is accessible, and although I found it a bit repetitive in places, it was an easy read.

Restoration is lovely introduction to the period, and is sure to whet the appetite of many.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there are many candidates for 'most eventful year in English history', 1666 has to be up there with them. Several years into the Restoration, it was perhaps one of the defining years of Charles II's reign - the year of the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the year of the Great Plague and most memorable of all, the year of the Great Fire of London. You know something's historic when it gets capitalised.

This is the year Alexander Larman focuses on as the prism through which to view Restoration England, Restoration London and Charles II himself. Taking a thematic approach, from the food people ate to the way they dressed, from the aristocracy to the beggars on the street, the trades people pursued and the criminals they apprehended, this is a potted history of a particularly iconic and memorable period in English history.

Sadly though, potted is all this is. Larman is a good writer and he brings this time and place to life, but it's just too short to really do justice to the era. One can't help but feel, reading this book, that it was a quick and easy write cobbled together from the research he'd already undertaken in his biography of the notorious Earl of Rochester, who flits in and out of these pages. I felt disappointed and almost cheated reading this book, because I enjoyed it, I wanted more, and I felt the author was wasting his abilities somewhat by cutting corners.