In May-August 1858, Victorian London experienced a sweltering summer when a large amount of sewage was discharged into the River Thames, and The Great Stink occurred. The author, Rosemary Ashton, set against the backdrop of the Great Stench of London, combines the production process of various bills passed that year, such as the Thames Purification Act, the Medical Care Act and the Divorce Act, to tell the rich and tortuous experiences of Darwin, Dickens and disraeli, then Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Rosemary Ashton, professor of English literature at University College London, drew on the Victorian newspapers, letters, diaries, gossip, court records and meteorological archives that have been widely digitized in recent years to outline a group portrait of Britain's golden age. It is a brilliant work of microhistory that reveals the importance of 1858 as a turning point in history that was not fully recognized.
Looking at history from a specific year, it presents a panoramic view, progressive reform and cultural atmosphere of Britain's heyday in the 19th century. Critics praised The Great Stench: The London Summer of 1858 as depicting "London trembling between the modern and dark ages" and "as exciting as a thriller".
London in 1858, suffering from the hottest summer in British history, the wastewater of more than two million residents of London was discharged into the River Thames, which caused a "big stench", how people breathe and live, and what measures did the British Parliament take? What bills have been passed that have changed people's lives and affected nation-building?
Why did Dickens insist on "separating" from his wife, who had been married for more than twenty years, stagnating in his career, discrediting him, and completely breaking with Thackeray's friendship?
Inspired by a letter from his friend Wallace, why did Darwin hastily start writing and publish The Origin of Species in advance?
As chancellor of the exchequer, Disraeli had a reputation for being flashy, reckless, and duplicitous, but how did he seize the opportunity to successfully counterattack and change the way parliament, the media and the queen viewed him?
Looking at history from a specific year, it presents a panoramic view, progressive reform and cultural atmosphere of Britain's heyday in the 19th century.
Through the "Great Stench" incident in 1858, how to coordinate the rapid development of industry and protect the ecological environment in human development?
A must-read book to learn about British history, London history, and British culture.
Mainstream media in Britain and the United States received rave reviews: "Good Book of the Year" recommendation from History Today; "Book of the Week" recommendation from The Guardian; paperback recommendation from The Sunday Times; recommendation by current MP Keith Simpson for the BBC2 "Daily Politics Show"; recommendation by New York Times "Good Book Q&A" and other recommendations...
In recent years, a large number of original newspaper and periodical materials have been digitized, which has directly contributed to the flourishing of microhistory writing, and this book is such an outstanding new work of "micro history" and "urban history" that reflects the intersection of literary history, intellectual history and social history. The book cuts into major events and major figures, excavates the connection between other people and events, outlines the panorama of London at that time, and truly feels the living conditions of big people and small people in Dickens's pen.
The book "The Great Stench: The London Summer of 1858" wrote about several "world firsts" in Britain: the first to renovate London sewers; the first to build the world's largest iron-hulled steamship at that time; the first to lay the Atlantic submarine telegraph cable; the first to advocate justice and equality in the field of marriage, amending the Divorce Act; the first to standardize the medical industry, establishing a registration system for practicing physicians, and establishing the National Medical Association.
Tell the story of the crises and twists that Darwin, Dickens, and the chancellor of the exchequer, Disrae, experienced in 1858, for a more comprehensive understanding of the three influential figures.
Wonderful digest
Wednesday, June 16, 1858, was the hottest day ever in Britain. It was also one of the hottest in British history. Wastewater from London's more than two million inhabitants is discharged into the River Thames, causing a foul smell. What is it like to live in London in this context? How did people survive the hot summer? What measures have been taken by people living or working along the River Thames, including MPs in the Houses of Parliament and judges in Westminster Hall, in the face of an unbearable environment? How do newspapers report it?
One of the great events of that summer was to adopt the engineer Joseph Bazer Jett's plan to build levees along the Thames and use interception sewers to divert wastewater east of London. London has been plagued by cholera and other diseases, most recently in 1854. Despite the mistaken belief that these diseases were transmitted through air rather than water, everyone realised that the River Thames had threatened the health of Londoners.
Britain phased out paper and stamp taxes before 1855, and newspapers surged, becoming an unprecedented source of information and opinions. From the historic and prestigious Times to new newspapers, such as the Reynolds newspaper, a street tabloid founded in 1850, the authorities have been pressuring the authorities to govern the River Times. In the summer of 1858, the government finally took measures. Bazel Jett began his great project, building the Victoria Levee, Albert Levee and Chelsea Levee, opening up new streets and parks that had a profound impact on London's public health, urban transport and landscape. That summer, a number of major projects had also been completed or were underway. Isanbad Jindum Brunel's Great Eastern, the world's largest iron-hulled steamboat at the time, was moored in Detford on the Thames, but was unable to sail due to a lack of funds. In August, the steamboats Niagara and Agamemnon sailed into the Atlantic Ocean, connected submarine telegraph cables, and enabled instant communication between Britain and the United States.
In the summer of 1858, the scientific field was remarkable, and the above project was only the tip of the iceberg. Darwin's On the Origin of Species was groundbreaking and changed the way people understood biological evolution, and although it was only published in November 1859, it began to sprout in June 1858. Darwin spent his early years with the Beagle, and then devoted himself to twenty years of research, gradually forming the theory of natural selection, but the progress was very slow. In June 1858, he received letters and papers from Alfred Russell Wallace, and was shocked to find that if he did not hurry up and publish them, he might be the first to be published by others, so he quickly wrote a single volume that was easy to read, "The Origin of Species". The book has both academic rigor and passion. He later recalled that he had wanted to write longer and provide more detail, but that wouldn't have so many readers and wouldn't have an impact so quickly. In the summer of 1858, family upheavals, physical condition, and research work kept scaring and devastating him, but only his family and a few friends knew that in those few short weeks, the 49-year-old Darwin experienced moments of crisis in his career and life.
That summer, Dickens and Disraeli, like Darwin, succeeded in the crisis and became representatives of the Victorian era, and the scientific, literary and political stages were also stared at because of them. By the summer of 1858, at the age of 46, Dickens had published several best-selling novels, as in the day, but there were also rumors that he was unfaithful to marriage. Some said he was flirting with his wife and sister, and some said he was flirting with the actress Chaoyun Twilight, who was only 19 years old, as old as his second daughter, Katie. Dickens not only denied emotional infidelity, but also had a hot head and publicly announced his separation from his wife. The two have been married for twenty-two years, had ten children, and nine have survived. That summer, he acted impulsively, broke off friends, terminated his cooperation with publishers, hurt his wife and children, and got into an argument with Thackeray over a small matter at the Garrick Club. Both are members of the Garrick Club, and both enjoy a high reputation in the literary world, although not close friends, but they have not been hurt and angry, their daughters also get along well, but now they are sitting separately, like strangers. This summer, the club was not very peaceful. Some young writers and lawyers were also involved in the so-called "Garrick Club incident," which sparked a heated discussion in the press. Most of these young men idolized Dickens and Thackeray, imitating their writing styles. Dickens entered a dry period of creation, but also sniffed out business opportunities in despair and began to tour the country for the first time to read his own works. He read it with great emotion, but he was also tired. The emotional vortex almost made him lose friends and readers, but whether it was speech, reading or writing, he showed a tenacious will and strong personality charm, and finally survived this difficulty and returned to the track of novel writing, publishing "A Tale of Two Cities" in 1859, "Great Prospects" in 1860, and "Our Mutual Friends" from 1864 to 1865. The latter two works are his culminations on sin and shame.