This episode continues the author’s cataloging of the miseries endured during the epidemic. From the weekly bills he notes that close to 40,000 people died in the five weeks between August 22d and September 26th (although not all from the plague), but he is skeptical of that number, believing that as many as 10,000 a week may have died during that period. Another theme he enlarges upon here is the effectiveness of the city government in maintaining adequate supplies of provisions for the poor and seeing to it that the dead were promptly disposed of. As one of the effects of their administration, he notes, the price of bread remained relatively stable throughout the entire period, and communal ovens remained open for households that made their own bread.
[For notes on the main themes of the novel, visit https://londonplague.com/postscript/. To see some ways in which our reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic are anticipated in the Journal, see https://londonplague.com/concordance/.]
Credits:
Podcast produced by Sam Brelsfoard.
Music from Funeral Sentences of Henry Purcell (1659-1695), performed by the Choir of Clare College at the University of Cambridge, Timothy Brown conducting. Used by permission.
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