When London Burned - a Story of Restoration Times and the Great Fire by George Alfred Henty AUDIOBOOK

George Alfred Henty’s "When London Burned – a Story of Restoration Times and the Great Fire" explores the tumultuous years surrounding the Restoration of Charles II, a period often dismissed as decadent but, in Henty’s hands, revealed as rich with complexity, enterprise, and unexpected heroism. With a narrative grounded in the chaos and renewal of seventeenth-century England, Henty presents a canvas where personal fate is intertwined with national upheaval.

The story’s backdrop—the Restoration, the Great Plague, and the devastating Fire of London—offers both specter and spur to its young protagonist, Cyril. Orphaned and adrift amid the shifting allegiances and misfortunes of the age, Cyril’s journey is not only a coming-of-age tale but also a meditation on resilience and moral formation. The novel opens with the loss of his neglectful yet gallant father and follows Cyril as he navigates the contrasts of courtly extravagance and civic suffering, the moral ambiguities of Cavaliers and Puritans, and the quiet dignity of work in a society obsessed with rank and fortune.

Henty’s style is both exacting and evocative, drawing from historical detail to animate the teeming streets of Holborn, the wary optimism of exiled Royalists, and the survival instincts of those left on the margins. Through Cyril’s eyes, listeners witness both the dangers and collective courage that define a city in flames and a nation rebuilding.

Rich in historical atmosphere, "When London Burned" will appeal to listeners who appreciate immersive period fiction where personal and public histories interlace. With its careful balance of adventure, character study, and cultural commentary, the audiobook provides a voice to one of England’s most dramatic and transformative eras.

Audiobook time & format : 13h10m16s, OPUS, 615 Mo
Audiobook free extract time & format : 5m (see below to listen), WAV
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