One Hot Summer : Dickens, Darwin, Disraeli, and the Great Stink of 1858 / Rosemary Ashton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ashton, Rosemary, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.

Dickens, Charles.

Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882.

Darwin, Charles.

Disraeli, Benjamin, 1804-1881.

Disraeli, Benjamin.

Great Stink, London, England, 1858.

Eighteen fifty-eight, A.D.

London (England)--Social conditions--19th century.

London (England).

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations (black and white)

Place of Publication:

2017.

New Haven, CT : Yale University Press, [2018]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

A unique, in-depth view of Victorian London during the record-breaking summer of 1858, when residents both famous and now-forgotten endured "The Great Stink" together While 1858 in London may have been noteworthy for its broiling summer months and the related stench of the sewage-filled Thames River, the year is otherwise little remembered. And yet, historian Rosemary Ashton reveals in this compelling microhistory, 1858 was marked by significant, if unrecognized, turning points. For ordinary people, and also for the rich, famous, and powerful, the months from May to August turned out to be a summer of consequence. Ashton mines Victorian letters and gossip, diaries, court records, newspapers, and other contemporary sources to uncover historically crucial moments in the lives of three protagonists-Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin, and Benjamin Disraeli. She also introduces others who gained renown in the headlines of the day, among them George Eliot, Karl Marx, William Thackeray, and Edward Bulwer Lytton. Ashton reveals invisible threads of connection among Londoners at every social level in 1858, bringing the celebrated city and its citizens vibrantly to life.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Illustrations

Prologue

CHAPTER ONE. 1858 in History

CHAPTER TWO. May 1858

CHAPTER THREE. June 1858, Part I

CHAPTER FOUR. June 1858, Part II

CHAPTER FIVE. July 1858

CHAPTER SIX. July-August 1858

CHAPTER SEVEN. The Aftermath of the Hot Summer

Epilogue

Endnotes

Select Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Previously issued in print: 2017.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 20. Sep 2019)

ISBN:

9780300231199

0300231199

OCLC:

1032364979