London's Disasters: from Boudicca to the Banking Crisis

Free Lunchtime lecture by John Withington.

From AD61, when Queen Boudicca - outraged at her treatment at the hands of the Romans - marched on to the city and burned it to the ground, London has been hit by wave upon wave of destruction. This talk will look at the story of over 2,000 years of disaster from fire, water, disease, pollution, accident, storm, riot, terrorism and enemy action.
John Withington’s latest book “London’s Disasters: from Boudicca to the Banking Crisis” (The History Press) is the first ever comprehensive history of London disasters, featuring well-known catastrophes like the Black Death and the Blitz, but also lesser known events like the original Great Fire of London and the burning down of Europe’s greatest palace.
John Withington is the author of a number of books including “A Disastrous History of Britain” and “A Disastrous History of the World”. A former television producer, he wrote and directed more than 40 documentaries including Royal London and Secret City. He writes regularly for newspapers and magazines, and blogs daily on the history of disasters at http://disasterhistorian.blogspot.com.

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