Chapter · England · History
Jane called us up about three
September 1666, in two private diaries
Two Londoners keep diaries while the city burns. This path reads their pages day by day, for what they say about a catastrophe seen from inside rather than reconstructed afterwards.
Context first
A lesson to read before the others, to set the scene.
- The place
- The era
- The people
Jane called us up about threeWoken at three in the morning on 2 September 1666, Pepys judges the fire distant and goes back to sleep. It takes a maid's rumour, then a climb up the Tower, before he warns the King.9 min
The lessons in this chapter
- 1Two witnesses, two versionsPepys sees a city moving out and never quenching; Evelyn sees a city standing still, not even saving its goods. Both were there, and it is their disagreement that teaches.10 min
- 2A cheese buried in the gardenFacing the fire, Pepys moves his gold three times, then buries the wine, his office papers and his parmesan in the garden. The list of what people save has barely changed.10 min
- 3Pulling down houses before the fireThe one known remedy was pulling down undamaged houses in front of the fire. It was available on day one and used on day four, when little was left to protect.10 min
How these lessons are written
Each lesson starts from first-hand sources: Wikisource, Gallica, Persée, archives, museums and institutes. A fact without a source does not get written, and every lesson lists its own as direct links.
The rhythm
A lesson is five minutes of cards and four questions. Those questions then come back the next day, then at 3, 7, 21 and 60 days, and that return is what makes it stick. One a day is enough, and you can do several in a row.