Susan Scott is a research worker in historical demography in the School of Biological Sciences, at the University of Liverpool. Christopher J. Duncan is Emeritus Professor of Zoology also in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Liverpool.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Epidemiological concepts; 3. The biology of bubonic plague; 4. The Great Pestilence; 5. Case study: the plague at Penrith in 1597–98; 6. Pestilence and plague in the 16th century in England; 7. Plagues in the 16th century in northern England: a metapopulation study; 8. Plagues in London in the 17th century; 9. Plagues in the provinces in the 17th century; 10. Plague at Eyam in 1665–66: a case study; 11. Continental Europe during the third age of plagues: a study of large-scale metapopulation dynamics; 12. The Plague at Marseilles, 1720–22: an outbreak of bubonic plague? 13. Conclusions; References; Index.

'Biology of Plagues is a fascinating read for those interested in the history of infectious disease and it is provocative and thought provoking.' Richard W. Titball, The Lancet