Books by Paul (Emeritus Professor of Early Modern Social History Slack

In this Very Short Introduction, Paul Slack explores the historical impact of plague over the centuries. Looking at the ways in which it has been interpreted, and the powerful images it has left behind in art and literature, he considers how it was fought and controlled, and the impact it had on our modern notions of public health.

Explores the concept of improvement which took root in seventeenth-century England, the political and economic circumstances which led to its rise, the effect it had on the society and culture of England, and its subsequent outreach as the British Empire spread.