
audiobook
by Nathaniel Hodges, John Quincy
A physician who witnessed the 1665 outbreak writes a vivid, day‑by‑day chronicle of how the plague first appeared in a Westminster household and then surged through the crowded streets of London. He records the fear, the hurried evacuations, and the frantic attempts to isolate the sick before the disease could take hold of the whole city. The narrative captures both the human panic and the stark reality of a city on the brink of disaster.
Joining the account is a concise essay on the causes of pestilential diseases as understood in the seventeenth century. It offers practical guidance—how to recognize early symptoms, what remedies were then considered effective, and simple measures citizens could take to protect themselves. The text reflects the blend of observation and early medical theory that shaped public health responses of the era.
Together, these sections give listeners a window into the lived experience of an epidemic before modern science, revealing how communities grappled with contagion, misinformation, and the urgent need for practical solutions.
Full title
Loimologia: Or, an Historical Account of the Plague in London in 1665 With Precautionary Directions Against the Like Contagion
Language
en
Duration
~5 hours (313K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Henry Gardiner and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2012-06-29
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1629–1688
A London physician remembered for staying in the city during the Great Plague, he later turned that experience into one of the best-known firsthand medical accounts of the epidemic. His life links Restoration-era medicine, Oxford learning, and the chaos of plague-stricken London.
View all booksd. 1722
An early-18th-century London medical writer, he turned practical pharmacy and medical reference works into books that stayed in use long after his death. His writing sits at the crossroads of apothecary practice, learned medicine, and the fierce medical debates of his time.
View all books