After eleven austere years under the Commonwealth, England became a monarchy once more and launched itself into a new world of leisure, shopping, fashion and trade. Charles II brought many grand ideas back from his exile and actively encouraged lavish lifestyles, the expansion of trade and the patronage of the sciences. Great diarists such as Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn preserved many details of life during this time, including accounts of the ravages of the plague and the drama of the Great Fire of London. Peter Furtado evokes the vibrant reality of this period, outlining social structures, the rise of the merchant and political classes, advances in science and medicine, and what life was like for ordinary people. Book jacket.