After years of civil war and political turmoil, the restoration of Charles II in 1660 heralded the rebirth of London. Recovering rapidly from the setbacks of plague and fire, the city became a flourishing crucible of commerce, science and the arts. This gripping history offers a vivid panorama of the metropolis in which modern Britain was forged, and the remarkable characters who made it: Wren, Newton, Halley, Dryden, Pepys – and the king himself.