Cover of Old Saint Paul's Volume 1: A Tale of the Plague and the Fire by William Harrison Ainsworth Audiobook Old Saint Paul's Volume 1: A Tale of the Plague and the Fire
Audiobook · Fractal Press

Old Saint Paul's Volume 1: A Tale of the Plague and the Fire

Author
William Harrison Ainsworth
Read by
Finian Silverwood
Language
English
Length
7 hours 20 minutes
ISBN
9781836100904
Published
16 January 2026
Imprint
Fractal Press
  • Great Plague
  • Great Fire of London
  • 17th-century London
  • historical disaster
  • Gothic drama
  • survival
  • religious fanaticism
  • love and betrayal
  • urban catastrophe
  • human resilience

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Description

Old Saint Paul’s unfolds during London’s Great Plague and Great Fire of 1665–1666, following grocer Stephen Bloundel and his apprentice Leonard Holt as the city descends into chaos. As disease spreads and St. Paul’s Cathedral becomes a refuge, love, murder, deception, and fanatic prophecy collide. William Harrison Ainsworth vividly blends history and Gothic drama, portraying survival, faith, and human frailty amid catastrophe.

Author

William Harrison Ainsworth (1805–1882) was the great Victorian showman of historical romance — a novelist who filled magazines and bookstalls with highwaymen, witches, Tudor courts, and London underworlds. Rookwood made Dick Turpin a legend; Jack Sheppard turned a thief into a popular hero; The Lancashire Witches brought the Pendle trials back to feverish life.

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