The Great Plague in London — Folio Society Edition | 2001 (Fourth Printing 2004) | Edited by Belinda Hollyer | Fine in Slipcase

This Folio Society edition of Walter George Bell's enduring classic is in superb, near-as-new condition — a perfect copy that any collector would be delighted to add to the shelf. The striking black cloth binding, with Francis Mosley's dramatic blocked design of a plague doctor amid the grim streets of 1665 London, remains vivid and untouched, the gilt spine lettering ("The Great Plague X" with its bold red cross) crisp as the day it left Edinburgh.

Walter George Bell's The Great Plague in London stands as one of the finest modern accounts of the 1665 outbreak, meticulously drawn from diaries, parish registers, and bills of mortality to capture the human reality behind the statistics. First published in 1924 and revised in 1951, this abridged Folio version — skilfully edited and introduced by Belinda Hollyer — distils Bell's scholarship into an engrossing, accessible narrative. It's a vivid portrait of a city in crisis: the fear, the heroism, the strange remedies, and the slow return to life. For lovers of Restoration history, social chronicles, or tales of resilience in dark times, this is essential and strangely timeless reading.

Physically, it's a Folio gem: 256 pages set in elegant Minion type on Caxton Wove paper, printed by St Edmundsbury Press and bound by Hunter & Foulis. It features atmospheric endpapers with John Dunstall's period engravings of plague scenes, a folding map drawn after Bell's original, and a selection of evocative illustrations. The matching black slipcase complements the binding perfectly.

Condition is fine throughout. The text block is immaculate — clean, bright pages with no foxing, inscriptions, marks, or creases; binding tight and square as new. Boards pristine with sharp corners and no shelf wear. The slipcase is equally excellent: sturdy, unfaded, with only the lightest possible handling traces (scarcely noticeable). A truly outstanding example that looks and feels fresh from the publisher.

About this edition: The 2001 Folio Society printing (this is the fourth impression of 2004) is prized for Mosley's powerful cover art and its compact, high-quality production. While first printings command a slight premium, later impressions in this condition are increasingly sought after by completists and those who value pristine preservation. It stands alone beautifully, though it companions well with other Folio volumes on the era, such as Pepys or accounts of the Great Fire.

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Packed with stiff packing paper, card and a sturdy outer box for safe delivery anywhere in the world.