Project Gutenberg 2004-02-01 Public domain in the USA. 248 Ainsworth, William Harrison 1805 1882 Ainsworth, W. Harrison (William Harrison) Ainsworth, W. H. (William Harrison) Ainsworth, Harrison Ainworth, W. Harrison (William Harrison) Ticheburn, Cheviot Old Saint Paul's: A Tale of the Plague and the Fire Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_St._Paul%27s_(novel) Etext produced by Dave Morgan, Terry Gilliland and PG Distributed Proofreaders HTML files produced by David Widger "Old Saint Paul's: A Tale of the Plague and the Fire" by William Harrison Ainsworth is a historical novel likely written in the mid-19th century. Set during one of London's most desperate times—the Great Plague of 1665—this tale revolves around Stephen Bloundel, a devout grocer, his family, and the various challenges they face as the pandemic devastates the city. The narrative weaves together personal struggles with larger themes of survival, morality, and the human capacity for both love and jealousy amidst calamity. At the start of the novel, we are introduced to the Bloundel family as they engage in fervent prayers for protection against the plague consuming London. Stephen Bloundel, the patriarch, grapples with his faith and the implications of the city’s sins which he believes have led to this catastrophe. His eldest son soon shows signs of illness, throwing the family into turmoil. Meanwhile, attention also turns to Amabel, the grocer's daughter, who finds herself the object of affection and rivalry between Leonard, the apprentice, and Maurice Wyvil, a handsome young gallant. The opening portion establishes the tense atmosphere thick with dread of the plague, alongside romantic entanglements, setting the stage for the intertwining of personal and public crises in the face of a merciless disease. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 70.3 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Historical fiction Great Fire, London, England, 1666 -- Fiction Plague -- Fiction London (England) -- History -- 17th century -- Fiction Fires -- Fiction St. Paul's Cathedral (London, England) -- Fiction PR Text Historical Fiction Category: Historical Novels Category: Novels Category: British Literature 1343907 2025-07-05T06:18:41.194937 text/html 1343586 2024-10-28T18:25:44 text/html 560131 2025-07-05T06:18:55.585856 application/epub+zip 584106 2025-07-05T06:18:45.098941 application/epub+zip 563762 2025-07-05T06:18:43.564912 application/epub+zip 1060096 2025-07-05T06:19:04.032816 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 987985 2025-07-05T06:18:54.432861 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 887568 2022-09-05T11:34:40.256408 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1168548 2023-10-05T08:10:22.682029 text/plain 1148600 2024-10-28T18:25:44 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17837 2025-07-05T06:19:04.165791 application/rdf+xml 21571 2025-07-05T06:18:44.090949 image/jpeg 4832 2025-07-05T06:18:43.827904 image/jpeg 542201 2025-07-05T06:18:41.285938 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia