Jonathan Swift transport back to 18th-century London

A letter from John Arbuthnot to Jonathan Swift shows how London is still much the same, 300 years on

The prime minister is under attack, the Tories are tearing themselves apart and pollutants fill the broiling London air. Oh, and it's 1714.

John Arbuthnot's letter to Jonathan Swift, written three hundred years ago on 26 June 1714, offers a snapshot of literature, politics and science which reveals how much and how little has changed.

Continue reading...