The Literary Culture of Plague in Early Modern England (Early Modern Literature in History)

This book is about the literary culture that emerged during and in the aftermath of the Great Plague of London (1665). The macabre history of plague in early modern England largely ended with the Great Plague of London, and the miscellany of plague writings that responded to the epidemic forms the subject of this book. This book is about the literary culture that emerged during and in the aftermath of the Great Plague of London (1665). Textual transmission impacted upon and simultaneously was impacted by the events of the plague. This book examines the role of print and manuscript cultures on representations of the disease through micro-histories and case studies of writing from that time, interpreting the place of these media and the construction of authorship during the outbreak. The macabre history of plague in early modern England largely ended with the Great Plague of London, and the miscellany of plague writings that responded to the epidemic forms the subject of this book The Literary Culture of Plague in Early Modern England 4 Acknowledgements 7 Contents 9 List of Figures 10 1 Introduction 11 Descending into Epidemic 13 Chapter Breakdown 21 Understanding the Writing of the Great Plague of London 24 Conclusion 28 Notes 28 2 Continuities in Plague Writing 11 Londons Lord Have Mercy Upon Us 36 Plague-Time Proclamations 43 Inherited Myth: The Story of the Piper 48 Conclusion 57 Notes 59 3 Medical Debates on Plague 11 Medical Thought in 1665 69 Thomson and Hodges 73 The Horror of the Plague Body 77 Print 82 Notes 95 4 Plague and Nonconformity 11 Thomas Vincent and the Biblical Apocalyptic 107 William Dyer, from Hearing to Reading the Revelation 116 Conclusion 131 Notes 131 5 Katherine Austen’s Reckoning with Plague in Book M 11 Katherine Austen’s Life and Book M 142 Death and Disease in Austen’s Book M 143 Stabilizing and Destabilizing ‘Private’ Narratives: Mortality Statistics in Austen and Defoe 152 Conclusion 158 Notes 161 6 Pestilence and War 11 The Diarists, the Diaries and Correspondence 168 War, Pestilence and Famine 170 Fragmenting the Body 177 Conclusion 183 Notes 183 7 Pestilential Poesies 11 Winstanley’s Pestilential Poesies 190 Printing Pestilence: William Austin’s Epiloimia 198 Conclusion 209 Notes 210 8 Conclusion: Recalling the Plague of 1665 in Later Literary Culture 11 Plague in Edward Worth’s Library 216 Interpreting the Literary Culture of Plague in 1665 217 Notes 221 Bibliography 222 Primary Sources 222 Secondary Sources 226 Index 238 Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction....Pages 1-23 Continuities in Plague Writing....Pages 25-55 Medical Debates on Plague....Pages 57-93 Plague and Nonconformity....Pages 95-129 Katherine Austen’s Reckoning with Plague in Book M ....Pages 131-159 Pestilence and War....Pages 161-181 Pestilential Poesies....Pages 183-210 Conclusion: Recalling the Plague of 1665 in Later Literary Culture....Pages 211-217 Back Matter....Pages 219-244 Kathleen Miller. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 219-234) And Index.