As a teacher I taught The Great Fire of London to my Year 2 class
After having already terrified them by teaching about The Plague
I always thought it would be a topic better taught to older children

Now as a home educating mummy
1665 and 1666 London are places we revisit every year
It is a fascinating time in history
And there is much to learned from the stories of
The Great Plague and The Great Fire

When I first heard that one of my favourite authors
Was writing a novel focused on the fire
I knew that once again I would learn things about this event
That I had not heard before

Linday Galvin writes the most amazing magical interpretations
Of history
Her stories are thrilling, fast paced page turners
Filled with facts
Crammed with carefully crafted characters
That steal your heart

The Great Phoenix Of London
Has all the elements we love Lindsay for
She takes readers to the very heart of the action
In this case trying to escape the fire of 1666

This is a historical adventure like no other
All the dangers of the fire
With the added complication of protecting
A bird of myth and fire
A legendary phoenix …

I absolutely loved this story
And savoured every one of Lindsay’s words
Her stories are always so well researched
And written with passion that sweeps you up
And makes you feel part of the story
Part of history with added awe and magic and peril

I have been dreading writing the review
As I just know that my words will not do this
Brilliant and beautiful book justice

We meet Gil and his family before the fire
Before the plague that sadly kills members of his family
Including his Dad

We meet him again on the night the fire begins
He is staying with his grandparents
When the fire begins on their street
Immediately we are immersed in
The wooden city of London
As the fire sparks
Gil and his grandparents try to help
Fight the fire
With old leather buckets
Before realising the fire is spreading
Too far
Too fast
They join other families in packing up their belongings
And leaving their homes
Not before helping to pull down their house
Sacrificing their home
To create a fire break
But it does not work and the fire rages on
Fear spreads with the flames
Anger and blame grow
Gil and his family head for the Thames
Thinking that sand and water will bring them safety
But the fire will not be stopped
The wind blows the sparks
The dry wood feeds the flames and fuels the fire
There is panic and chaos as
More and more of London burns
In the mayhem Gil is separated from his family
Left holding a mysterious ball of rock
That has fallen from the sky
Left with Jennet
A brave strong girl tasked with getting Gil to safety

The two children race along the river path
Sticking and stumbling in the mud
Before bobbing down the busy river in a barrel
Gil needs to get to his mother
Who loves near St Paul’s Cathedral
He knows that they will find sanctuary inside
The old stone walls
But Gil has a problem
Out of the ball of rock
A bird of myth and fire has hatched
A legendary phoenix

Now they are racing to beat the inferno
While being chased by a man
Desperate to take the bird from Gil

Linday’s storytelling is so enchanting
She really does pull you to the heart of the action
Appealing to all your senses
I feel that this is an event in history that I know a lot about
But what Lindsay has done is shown
How this event affected the people
The communities
The businesses involved
She shows us the humanity in history
The pain of the plague
The horror of your grief being attacked by fire
Losing your home after losing your children
Sacrificing your home and business
How unprepared London was to face a fire
How those in power did not know what to do
The feeling powerlessness against the forces of nature
Seeking someone to blame
Directing anger at people different from you
The power of love in protecting one another
The fear of the unknown
The ability of unlikely alliances to grow
Into fiercely loyal friendships

Through the story children also learn
The importance of books and learning
The power of knowledge
How those that understood the mythology
Around the phoenix
Knew not to be afraid of it
How those who knew about people
Knew not to fear others because
They looked or sounded different to them

I loved how there was so much in this story
That felt familiar
Pudding Lane
The bakery
The wooden houses too close together
The fleeing to the river
The burning of St Paul’s
Samuel Pepys’s diary
The controlled explosions to protect the tower
This story takes you to the heart of
The Great Fire of London
Through this historical event
We think about all the stories we know
About the history of London
Where people of the city have needed to work together
To bring new life and possibilities to the place where they live

The phoenix
The perfect metaphor
the strong, majestic and fearless bird
Rising from the flames
Just as the city of London rose again
From the flames of the fire
In 1666

A symbol of strength, resilience and hope
For us all

RESURGAM