The Day Parliament Burned Down

Book excerpt: This is the thrilling but largely unknown story of the day that the 800 year-old Houses of Parliament burnt down. Today it is a largely forgotten event, but in 1834 it was as shocking and significant to contemporaries as the death of Princess Diana was to us at the end of the 20th century. Out of the fire rose not just the new Houses of Parliament, but masterpieces by Turner and Dickens, the first Public Record Office and a new Metropolitan Fire Brigade. It is afascinating tale, never previously told in a full-length book. Written by the head of the Parliamentary Archives at Westminster, it will appeal to any readers interested in the Georgian and Victorianperiods, the history of London, and the story of Parliament.