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9781107421318

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Reviews

'The Smoke of London takes its inspiration from environmental history to make a powerful contribution to our understanding of debates in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England about urbanisation, economic growth, and its environmental consequences ... [The book] does forcibly show that debates about urban pollution long predate the nineteenth century and offers a fascinating window onto environmental attitudes in early modern England. Cavert's book is, then, a wide-ranging, nuanced, and thoughtful contribution to environmental, urban, and English history.' Robert J. Mayhew, Journal of Historical Geography 'The Smoke of London will no doubt find undergraduate as well as specialist readers: it is snappily written, meticulously and helpfully footnoted and tackles historiographical debates in a range of fields with admirable clarity. A memorable anecdote frames each chapter, and gives a window into the breadth of research that sits behind the book's key arguments. Sensitive readings of literary sources are placed in a robust economic framework. Carefully explained statistics sit alongside weird and wonderful cases from the royal courts, in a potent blend of political, scientific, economic, industrial and social history, all under the 'environmental' umbrella. It is a brilliant book that deserves to be widely read.' Andy Burn, Urban History 'An erudite study of the environmental price paid by the growth of early modern London, which looks to be repeated in present-day Beijing.' Gillian Tindall, History Today

Author Information

William M. Cavert is a historian of early modern Britain focusing on urban and environmental history, holding a Ph.D. from Northwestern University, Illinois. He has published 'The Environmental Policy of Charles I: Coal Smoke and the English Monarchy, 1624-1640' in the Journal of British Studies, as well as related studies in Global Environment and Urban History. His work has been supported by grants from The Mellon Foundation, the Huntington Library, the Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy, Northwestern University, the University of Cambridge, and the University of St Thomas, Minnesota, and by a fellowship at Clare College, Cambridge. His current research examines Britain during the Little Ice Age, focusing on cold winters, disasters, and relationships with animals.

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