In the early evening of 16 October 1834, to the horror of bystanders, a huge ball of fire exploded through the roof of the Houses of Parliament, creating a blaze so enormous that it could be seen by the King and Queen at Windsor, and from stagecoaches on top of the South Downs. In front of hundreds of thousands of witnesses the great conflagration destroyed Parliament’s glorious old buildings and their contents. No one who witnessed the disaster would ever forget it.

Total Politics/Paddy Power Political Book of the Year 2013

Shortlisted for the Longman/History Today Prize 2013

Shortlisted for the Political History Book of the Year Prize 2013

Book of the Year for The Daily Telegraph, New Statesman, Daily Mail and Herald Scotland

‘Glorious’ – Dan Jones

‘Microhistory at its absolute best’ – Mary Beard