The Day Parliament Burned Down

• Winner of the Political Book of the Year 2013, Political Book Awards
• Shortlisted for the Longman-History Today Prize 2013
• Shortlisted for the Political History Book of the Year 2013, Political Book Awards
• Book of the Year for The Daily Telegraph, New Statesman, Daily Mail and Herald Scotland.

A glorious micro-history…a formative event in the history of modern British democracy. [Shenton] was born to write its chronicle – Dan Jones, The Daily Telegraph

No-one has written about the burning of Parliament before, and this vivid, superbly-researched book is a definitive account of one of the greatest cock-ups in English history – Jane Ridley, The Spectator

Caroline Shenton’s book recreates the suspense and drama so well that it is easy to forget that we know what happened in the end…One of the many achievements of Shenton’s scholarly but gripping account is to revive, in all its intricacy and richness, the ghost of one of London’s greatest lost treasures – Rosemary Hill, The Guardian

Excellent – The Independent

Anyone with even a passing interest in politics or London history will be engrossed – Time Out

For the thousands who watched it, it was the most dramatic experience of their lives, a spectacle of awe, horror and curious beauty. But is it worth a whole book? Yes, indeed – Caroline Shenton proves so…hour by hour she takes us through the fantastic build-up of the fire. You could have been there – The Daily Mail

Deeply researched…surprisingly gripping – The Sunday Times

Like a Victorian version of the TV series 24, the events are vividly counted down, hour by lurid hour, from first light at 7am to the final devastation at 6am on October 17 – and the ashes are expertly sifted for the political and social context of a calamity now mostly forgotten – Saga Magazine

Vivid… a truly remarkable read – The Sunday Express

A gripping account of that fateful night and a wide-ranging search for its ramifications across British society…well-written and extensively illustrated, this is a book that deserves attention… let us hope Shenton moves on to consider the building of the new Houses of Parliament – BBC History Magazine

The tale makes heroic reading… well-written and well-researched – Literary Review

Superb – Total Politics

Written in a thriller style… Shenton vividly brings to life this national disaster – Public Service Magazine

With meticulous research, using eyewitness accounts and newspaper records, it makes for compulsive and entertaining reading – The Bookseller

Signed copies can be ordered online from the Houses of Parliament Shop.