Description
Book SynopsisThis groundbreaking investigation into the lives of London's underclass was undertaken by Henry Mayhew in the 1850s. His interviews with street traders, beggars, and thieves results in a work as vivid as a Victorian novel. This new selection includes original illustrations and an illluminating introduction and notes.
Trade ReviewReview from previous 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, TLS 17/12/2010 *
Should be required reading not just for lovers of Dickens, but for anyone who wishes to understand how our nineteenth century truly was. * Simon Heffer, Telegraph 14/01/2011 *
superb new edition * Ian Thomson, Evening Standard 02/12/2010 *
superb introduction * Michael Dirda, Washington Post 26/01/2011 *
some of the best descriptive writing in the English language * Roy Hattersley, New Statesman 18/10/2010 *
