Vivid social history of London in one of its most dramatic and exciting periods. From rag-gatherers to royalty, fish knives to Freemasons, this tells of everyday life in London drawing on a huge wealth of primary source material, including unpublished journals and diaries.

Liza Picard was born in 1927. She is the bestselling author an acclaimed series of books on the history of London: Elizabeth's London, Restoration London, Dr Johnson's London and Victorian London. Her most recent book, Chaucer's People, explores the Middle Ages through the lives of the pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales. She read law at the London School of Economics and was called to the Bar by Gray's Inn, but did not practise. She worked for many years in the office of the Solicitor of the Inland Revenue before retiring to become a full-time author. She lives in London.