Excellelent contributioin to the literature ( )

Lincoln has taken a roughly chronological history of the 17th century and focused on the development of one city, London. Encompassing civil war, natural disasters and the rise of commerce, this is a very entertaining yet erudite read. The rate of change in the City over the course of one hundred years is astonishing as London rose to become one of the pre-eminent cities of the world. I particularly enjoyed the insights into the lives of both the rich and poor, the influence of court on commerce and the effects of both the Commonwealth and the Restoration. ( )

London And The Seventeenth Century is well-written and highly informative. Lincoln has a knack for identifying and explaining the events and trends that shaped 17th century London’s development in approachable and entertaining prose. Readers will gain a solid understanding of how the interplay between England’s rulers, London’s government, and the city’s aristocracy, tradespeople and merchants, and impoverished residents shaped the development of city and nation. In examining this, Lincoln tackles both traditional subjects (defense, diplomacy, religion, trade) and cultural development (architecture, entertainment, fashion, leisure pursuits), and how each changed as the city endured civil war, foreign invasion, the great fire, and plagues. From debates about civil rights, gender roles, immigration, political factionalism, religion in politics, and socioeconomic inequality, there are a lot of fascinating parallels between that era and the present day, which Lincoln skillfully draws out. My review copy from NetGalley lacked all the maps and several of the illustrations listed in the table of contents alongside other omissions, and I can only review what I’ve been given, so 3.5 stars for now. But even as an ARC, this was still a fascinating and approachable read and I recommend it to fans of history and well-written nonfiction in general. ( )