London in Flames: Apocalypse 1666 - Softcover

James D. Rietveld’s insightful, essay-length study of the great London fire investigates and illuminates the so-called ‘apocalypse’ of 1666. He sets out not to unravel all the opinions concerning this cataclysmic event that were then present within the vast tapestry of English popular culture; instead the tact he opts for is an examination of how groups used the great fire as a rhetorical tool. From the pulpit, the podium and in print, the phenomenon of the fire was fashioned into a tool to bring about moral reform, a return to church fellowship, Parliamentary tolerance of religious diversity, or even as an exhortation to mobilize against the forces of Catholicism. He goes on to describe how the fire of 1666 erupted so dramatically — in the manner of ‘a thief in the night’ upon Londoners — that all the repressed feelings of suspicion, of anger, and of discontent within the popular imagination — those thoughts usually kept in check either by fear of the authorities or for personal advantage — immediately rose to the surface and found a voice in a variety of ways. Dr. James D. Rietveld lectures at California State University Fullerton in both History and Comparative Religion. His specialties include the History of Christianity in the Early, Medieval, and Byzantine periods, New Testament Studies and Greco-Roman religions. His forthcoming book will focus on Artemis of the Ephesians. His work here is published by Highland Loch Press of Dallas, Texas, in association with WordSnips, a division of Wordsmith Media Inc.