Cindy Wright's The Dark Traveller is a unique compilation that details with precision and accuracy the movement of the Black Death in London and the small area of Eyam in the 1660's. The quantity of facts and figures offered is far more than what one gets reading general European history. For history lovers researching this infamous time, The Dark Traveller is an invaluable resource because it is one of the most in depth references around. Wright eloquently and accurately tells of the chaos without being unnecessarily theatrical. The reader is swept to feel like they are living in London in 1665. Well written and concise, The Dark Traveller references primary resources of the time, giving it an authoritative stand on the subject matter.
For attentive learners interested in digging up medical history, this is an essential read because it focuses on the early efforts to quell the disease. After reading The Dark Traveler, one will appreciate the advents of modern sanitation and more a sophisticated knowledge of human health. All together, it is an intriguing bit of the past that can take anyone back in time to understand. It reads briefly and articulately covering the whys and hows of every major aspect of the tale.
Additionally, within The Dark Traveler are suitable illustrations to enhance the reader's experience. The most remarkable aspect about this informative work is the amount of detail included that is not common knowledge: from names and lives of actual people that passed away, to the story of a town that sacrificed itself to the disease. It is shocking how many pseudo-cures had been created to fight the Bubonic Plague. Some are sure to make one shudder.
As always, Wright is very concise and factual. In the Dark Traveller, the story of the bubonic plague is ushered forth from antiquated times into a tangible reality. With details found from archives, a very full story of demise and death tolls rising is told. Like a ghost walking from person to person unseen, but perceiving the lives of victims, The Dark Traveler has a different overall aura than most historical texts. It has a bit of closeness to each person that lived as if one has the privilege to run into that person hundreds of years ago before moving on to someone else. The Black Death becomes all the more real.
This highly educational experience will greatly enhance understanding and bring one into a higher plane of knowledge. This is the perfect resource for any research paper concerning the Black Death or health in the 15th century due to its respectability, authority, and convenient briefness. One just might think twice too the next time one is bitten by a flea. However, do not be scared of the moribundity, The Dark Traveler is also a story of survivors who didn't succumb to the Black Death's lethal grasp. The Dark Traveler is meant to take the reader back with such an experience that it is even used as travel companion in London to see all the places where every event did truly happen. Sure to haunt and educate, read for the memory of lethal bygone days.
What an interesting sounding book.
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