London Labour and the London Poor originated in a series of newspaper articles written by the great journalist Henry Mayhew between 1849 and 1850. A dozen years later, it had grown into the fullest picture we have of labouring people in the world's greatest city in the nineteenth century: a four volume account of the hopes, customs, grievances and habits of the working-classes that allows them to tell their own stories. Combining practicality with compassion, Mayhew worked unencumbered by political theory and strove solely to report on the lives of the London poor, their occupations and trades. This selection shows how well he succeeded. From costermongers to ex-convicts, from chimney-sweeps to vagrants, the underprivileged of London are uniquely brought to life - their plight expressed through a startling blend of first person accounts, Mayhew's perceptions, and sharp statistics.
London Labour and the London Poor
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
This edition... has a thoughtful, detailed and illuminating introduction. (Andrew Dodgshon, Tribune )
Robert Douglas-Fairhurst has a strong sense of the contradictory forces at work in Mayhew's writing, which he compares successively to a peep show, a collection of dramatic monologues and an early work of sociology...This selection is still as long as a fair-sized novel, with helpful notes and a springy, suggestive introduction that captures the energy and variety of Mayhew's world. (John Bowen, Times Literary Supplement. )
Should be required reading not just for lovers of Dickens, but for anyone who wants to understand our 19th century. (Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph )
[A] superb new edition. (Ian Thomson, Evening Standard )
As riveting as any Dickensian novel and as salutary as any social services report, this is a unique insight into the life of the capital over a hundred years ago. (Robert Gwyn Palmer, The Resident )
A collection of some of the best descriptive writing in the English language. (Roy Hattersley, New Statesman ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Robert Douglas-Fairhurst has a strong sense of the contradictory forces at work in Mayhew's writing, which he compares successively to a peep show, a collection of dramatic monologues and an early work of sociology...This selection is still as long as a fair-sized novel, with helpful notes and a springy, suggestive introduction that captures the energy and variety of Mayhew's world. (John Bowen, Times Literary Supplement. )
Should be required reading not just for lovers of Dickens, but for anyone who wants to understand our 19th century. (Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph )
[A] superb new edition. (Ian Thomson, Evening Standard )
As riveting as any Dickensian novel and as salutary as any social services report, this is a unique insight into the life of the capital over a hundred years ago. (Robert Gwyn Palmer, The Resident )
A collection of some of the best descriptive writing in the English language. (Roy Hattersley, New Statesman ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
Henry Mayhew (1812?1887) was a journalist, social investigator, novelist, and author? his work distinguished by vivid reportage, unsentimental sympathy, humor, and an eye for detail. Victor Neuburg is a former senior lecturer at the School of Librarianship, University of North London. His publications include Popular Literature and A Guide to the Western Front.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
It is strange that more is not known about the life of Henry Mayhew. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
It is strange that more is not known about the life of Henry Mayhew. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
102 of 103 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Mayhew interviewed hundreds of people, all extremely poor, and many in destitution, to discover the conditions of poverty in London in 1852. Here, he relates their stories in their own words, with deep sympathy, but is never patronising or judgemental in the typical Victorian fashion. The interviews shed light on all aspects of Victorian society, viewed by those it treated harshest. Favourite examples: the photographer, who exploited his customer's ignorance of the technique (a widow whose picture did not come out is given one of a sailor, and told that the cap represents her hair); the crossing-sweeper, who earns pennies by drawing pictures in the mud outside the shopping arcade; the wife of the soldier sent to Canada, who finds relief in a homeless shelter, her stockings having frozen to her feet. Most stories are personal tragedies, each of a different kind, though many with flashes of humour. The extent of some people's bad fortunes is frequently distressing: because these are real people who speak to us through Mayhew's writing. The author's conclusion is that society is to blame for the poverty of its citizens, a view he reaches by recognising his interviewees' essential humanity.
45 of 46 people found the following review helpful
By Big Jim
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
Amazon should look to separating this edition from the Penguin edition of Mayhew's studies because this is almost a totally different selection of Mayhew's writings with a better and more in depth introduction and potted biography of Mayhew by the editor, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst. One of the main points that Douglas-Fairhurst makes is that Mayhew considered himself a reporter rather than a reformer or campaigner but what a reporter. Using language that resonates of the time, much of it verbatim transcripts of interviewees, Mayhew shines a dazzling light on the street life of Victorian London. Dickens and Thackeray were notable devotees of Mayhew's work and incorporated much of his studies into their own work.
I would strongly recommend anyone with even the slightest interest in the period to get this volume, all the more so because although there is some overlap with the Penguin edition, there is lots of "new" material in here (costermongers' cries for example) so that even if you already have that edition it is well worth getting this one as well.
I would strongly recommend anyone with even the slightest interest in the period to get this volume, all the more so because although there is some overlap with the Penguin edition, there is lots of "new" material in here (costermongers' cries for example) so that even if you already have that edition it is well worth getting this one as well.
78 of 82 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Henry Mayhew, founder of Punch magazine, wrote this four-volume sociological classic during the 1850's. If you are at all interested in the Victorian era, in British history, in London, or in urban history in general, this is a must-read. This version is abridged and is a distillation of the "best" of the multiple-volume set. This distillation is itself over 500 pages, so imagine the impact of the entire set! The utter destitution of the London poor is set out in such vivid detail than one cannot help being shocked at the conditions human beings were forced to live in in the greatest city of its time. The only fault I find with this book is Mayhew's occasional lapses into preaching. Otherwise a fine book.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 9 reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating
I first read portions of Mayhew when at school. Now that I am retired I am revisiting his work. He presents a vivid and
fascinating picture of life amongst the poor in... Read more
fascinating picture of life amongst the poor in... Read more
Published 1 month ago by David Thorpe
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating insights
We all think we know about life in Victorian times through Dickens and others, but this surprisingly readable account of real lives in early Victorian London is a real eye-opener.
Published 1 month ago by D. Dalby
4.0 out of 5 stars
Social history as Dickens would have seen it
Having just read Terry Pratchett's "Dodger" I was interested to read about Henry Mayhew's book, written at the same time as Charles Dickens was writing about some of these... Read more
Published 2 months ago by fionafrog
2.0 out of 5 stars
Hard reading.
At the price the book was cheap but to get through it you need a degree in literature. Don't expect an easy read.
Published 2 months ago by tony trouble
5.0 out of 5 stars
Curiosity
I purchased this book for my husband as he had just read Terry Pratchett's "Dodger" and this was one of the reference books mentioned. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Shrimp
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Reading
The main reason I sent for the book is Mayhew was mentioned on many occasions in the book 'Dodger' by Terry Pratchett (another excellent read). And wanted to find out more.
Published 4 months ago by cynthwh
5.0 out of 5 stars
A most interesting study of the life and times of Victorian/edwardian...
Worth the money, well worth the time to read. Excellent for the detail, of everyday life in London etc., a must for anyone reasearching those times.
Published 5 months ago by W. Sharp
5.0 out of 5 stars
London Labour and London Poor
This book is an excellent read, although rather heavy reading. It's a book I find to pick up and read a bit at a time, to get the most enjoyment and information from.
Published 6 months ago by David Theobald and Mrs G Theobald
4.0 out of 5 stars
good but getting bogged down in statistics
This book is very enlightening and shows a side of employment not usually show. However the statistics tend to be quite laboured.
Published 6 months ago by caz
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's a book you can pick up and dip into at random
I am staggered by this book. I know there are faults with it but it really is an amazing piece of preserved history. Read more
Published 11 months ago by subject2status
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > Historical > Britain > Military
- Books > Biography > Historical > Britain > Social & Urban History
- Books > Biography > Historical > Countries & Regions > Europe
- Books > Biography > Historical > Social & Urban History
- Books > Biography > Political > Britain > Labour & Socialism
- Books > Business, Finance & Law > Biographies & Histories > Biographies & Memoirs
- Books > Business, Finance & Law > Biographies & Histories > Business & Economic History
- Books > Business, Finance & Law > Economics > Labour
- Books > History > Britain & Ireland
- Books > History > Cultural History > London
- Books > History > Social & Economic History > Health & Welfare
- Books > History > World History
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
