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The Good Old Days: Crime, Murder and Mayhem in Victorian London
Were things really better in the good old days?
The nineteenth century was a time when there were not only massive gulfs being created between the upper, middling and working classes, but there was also a growing awareness of the existence of an even more impoverished underclass - a terrifying demi-monde of criminals, tarts and no-hope low lifes. This was the layer of 'ruffians' identified by social investigators such as Charles Booth and Henry Mayhew. The extent of those class divisions and consequent poverty meant that it could honestly be said by commentators of the time that the mores, lives and even language of the poorest in society were less familiar to their more privileged neighbours than those of the inhabitants of what was known then as 'darkest Africa'.
However, this unfamiliarity certainly didn't prevent a certain amount of experimental visiting - a kind of poverty tourism known as slumming - by toffs who chose to risk their safety for the thrill of mixing with the roughs in the taverns, music halls and case houses down by the docks. But they had to take care. Uniformed gangs would 'hold their street' in violent clashes with opposing mobs, and foreign seamen who had jumped ship would set up home near the river, close to the massive wealth hidden behind the high, blind walls of the bonded warehouses, and everyone knew about the alien hoards' propensity for making a living from thievery, opium, and whores...
Gilda O'Neill's powerful exploration of the teeming underbelly that was to be found in the fog-bound streets, rat-infested slums, common lodging houses, boozers, penny gaffs and brothels in the heart of the greatest empire that the world has ever seen brings to life the real working class London of Victoria's reign.
The nineteenth century was a time when there were not only massive gulfs being created between the upper, middling and working classes, but there was also a growing awareness of the existence of an even more impoverished underclass - a terrifying demi-monde of criminals, tarts and no-hope low lifes. This was the layer of 'ruffians' identified by social investigators such as Charles Booth and Henry Mayhew. The extent of those class divisions and consequent poverty meant that it could honestly be said by commentators of the time that the mores, lives and even language of the poorest in society were less familiar to their more privileged neighbours than those of the inhabitants of what was known then as 'darkest Africa'.
However, this unfamiliarity certainly didn't prevent a certain amount of experimental visiting - a kind of poverty tourism known as slumming - by toffs who chose to risk their safety for the thrill of mixing with the roughs in the taverns, music halls and case houses down by the docks. But they had to take care. Uniformed gangs would 'hold their street' in violent clashes with opposing mobs, and foreign seamen who had jumped ship would set up home near the river, close to the massive wealth hidden behind the high, blind walls of the bonded warehouses, and everyone knew about the alien hoards' propensity for making a living from thievery, opium, and whores...
Gilda O'Neill's powerful exploration of the teeming underbelly that was to be found in the fog-bound streets, rat-infested slums, common lodging houses, boozers, penny gaffs and brothels in the heart of the greatest empire that the world has ever seen brings to life the real working class London of Victoria's reign.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published September 7, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
September 22, 2019
Ughhh...
This book read like a 'D'-student's essay in a high school history class...if they had cranked it out (without any editing or rewrites) the night before it was due after smoking some bad weed, forgetting their textbook in their locker and using someone else's terrible notes to craft their writing. Bummer. --Jen from Quebec :0(
This book read like a 'D'-student's essay in a high school history class...if they had cranked it out (without any editing or rewrites) the night before it was due after smoking some bad weed, forgetting their textbook in their locker and using someone else's terrible notes to craft their writing. Bummer. --Jen from Quebec :0(
February 18, 2014
For myself and most of my generation, the good old days doesn't refer to the Victorian period; we refer to the post war years. This was a time when neighbours were neighbourly, children were grateful for what they were given, and we're not bored a few days into the school holidays. The words Please and Thank you were in use, bank tillers could do maths without the need of a calculator. Also for me, food tasted better even if there wasn't mush of it.
November 21, 2007
Just goes to show things have never really been that great. Is all a facade!
October 22, 2023
A fascinating, demystifying walk through one of the most storied eras on English history... and when I say storied, I mean literally. For much of my youth, I could walk into any library or bookstore and throw a rock and the hit a Victorian romance, one glamorizing that most technologically exciting, and physically chaste, of eras.
Here O'Neill strips that veneer away, de-romanticizing London with example after example from across Victoria's long reign. Full anecdotes from her own life (raised by parents who, in turn, were raised by Victorians), and from a wide range of newspapers, magazines, and books written at the time, there is a tirelessness to this work. A steady need in O'Neill's writing to make her readers understand that when we, in the 21st century, ask the heavens why we couldn't live in a simpler time, a softer time, a safer one, that that time never truly existed. That the "good old days", whatever era we think that refers to, was never really so good, and that we are all far better served by looking forward, to the better futures we can build together, than to an imagined past that never existed.
Here O'Neill strips that veneer away, de-romanticizing London with example after example from across Victoria's long reign. Full anecdotes from her own life (raised by parents who, in turn, were raised by Victorians), and from a wide range of newspapers, magazines, and books written at the time, there is a tirelessness to this work. A steady need in O'Neill's writing to make her readers understand that when we, in the 21st century, ask the heavens why we couldn't live in a simpler time, a softer time, a safer one, that that time never truly existed. That the "good old days", whatever era we think that refers to, was never really so good, and that we are all far better served by looking forward, to the better futures we can build together, than to an imagined past that never existed.
December 12, 2023
I don't usually go for true crime books, but this one fell my way and I thought I'd have a read before passing it on. The author writes with great enthusiasm for the area and the times she's describing, providing an interesting insight into life in the East End during a time when the rest of the English Empire was considered such a bug success. I can't say that I read anything overly surprisingly, but I did enjoy reading the contemporary quotes and seeing just how much they echo what is said today about many of the same topics.
A fascinating read - worth the time spent between its pages.
A fascinating read - worth the time spent between its pages.
May 6, 2020
I enjoyed this book and liked the fact that the writer had a personal take on the areas she described, as she had grown up in the east end as did her Victorian ancestors. As well as research into crimes and statistics, her family stories from past generations gave the author a rich insight and passion for the rough, short lives of the lower class at that time. I love reading about the Victorians...all of the social classes, inventions, changes and traditions. The era is fascinating!
December 6, 2016
Author and historian Gilda O'Neill, well-known for her social history books exploring the changing face of London's East End, examines the problems that plagued the "good old days" of the Victorian era, using the thesis that problems of the present day really aren't all that different from the past, and the past is far less rosy than memory and glorified history would have us believe.
Despite a perception of the Victorian age as a kind of golden era of prosperity and safety from a societal sense, bolstered by its developments in technology and advancements towards modernity, O'Neill argues that it was actually a time of extremes, leading many sections of the population to turn to crime in order to survive. She's remarkably effective in drawing parallels with the world of Victorian vice and modern society, and meticulous about providing examples to illustrate her points. I particularly liked her debunking of blaming video games for violence in modern youth, a tired old argument we've been hearing my entire lifetime and probably longer. But learn enough about history and it turns out that nothing is really new, the details and circumstances change but the core of human nature, especially in conditions of social shifts and poverty, doesn't change too much.
Chapters are divided by vice, and look at problems like drug and alcohol dependency, crimes involving children and child abuse, murder, prostitution, common street crime like petty theft, and perhaps most intriguingly the section on cons, fraud and psychic crime. O'Neill presents cases that sparked public interest and exemplified social issues of the day. And of course, no book on Victorian criminal history in London, especially with its heavy focus on the East End, would be complete without a chapter devoted to Jack the Ripper. Historical episodes and explanations of specific crimes and cases are interspersed with the author's own familial background and their experiences in various colorful London jobs.
As interesting as the subject material is, I didn't enjoy the structure - the author presents a fairly good argument then inserts a big chunk of source to back it up, making it read more like an academic dissertation than a well-told history or work of narrative nonfiction. Long sections of the text are direct quotes from other sources that seem like they'd be more effective if woven into the narrative instead of extracted and used verbatim.
And sometimes the individual episodes didn't go into enough detail, they seemed to be over before I'd found out all I wanted to know. But that can be a positive: it's a quick read so serves as a solid introduction to the history of crime in the era and a jumping off point for additional topics of interest.
I absolutely loved her somewhat cynical assessment that, just like in the present day, if you were healthy, wealthy, and male, things would probably work out just fine; but if you were any combination of the opposites of those three things, you face a much tougher time. Some things never change.
I received an advance copy of the new ebook edition in exchange for review.
Despite a perception of the Victorian age as a kind of golden era of prosperity and safety from a societal sense, bolstered by its developments in technology and advancements towards modernity, O'Neill argues that it was actually a time of extremes, leading many sections of the population to turn to crime in order to survive. She's remarkably effective in drawing parallels with the world of Victorian vice and modern society, and meticulous about providing examples to illustrate her points. I particularly liked her debunking of blaming video games for violence in modern youth, a tired old argument we've been hearing my entire lifetime and probably longer. But learn enough about history and it turns out that nothing is really new, the details and circumstances change but the core of human nature, especially in conditions of social shifts and poverty, doesn't change too much.
Chapters are divided by vice, and look at problems like drug and alcohol dependency, crimes involving children and child abuse, murder, prostitution, common street crime like petty theft, and perhaps most intriguingly the section on cons, fraud and psychic crime. O'Neill presents cases that sparked public interest and exemplified social issues of the day. And of course, no book on Victorian criminal history in London, especially with its heavy focus on the East End, would be complete without a chapter devoted to Jack the Ripper. Historical episodes and explanations of specific crimes and cases are interspersed with the author's own familial background and their experiences in various colorful London jobs.
As interesting as the subject material is, I didn't enjoy the structure - the author presents a fairly good argument then inserts a big chunk of source to back it up, making it read more like an academic dissertation than a well-told history or work of narrative nonfiction. Long sections of the text are direct quotes from other sources that seem like they'd be more effective if woven into the narrative instead of extracted and used verbatim.
And sometimes the individual episodes didn't go into enough detail, they seemed to be over before I'd found out all I wanted to know. But that can be a positive: it's a quick read so serves as a solid introduction to the history of crime in the era and a jumping off point for additional topics of interest.
I absolutely loved her somewhat cynical assessment that, just like in the present day, if you were healthy, wealthy, and male, things would probably work out just fine; but if you were any combination of the opposites of those three things, you face a much tougher time. Some things never change.
I received an advance copy of the new ebook edition in exchange for review.
January 27, 2018
A great read
A very well thought out and put together book which draws back the curtain on the so called Victorian values so beloved by certain elemnts of society today. The author sets out to parallel shock headlines of recent years with those same headlines in the good old days. The same features of drugs, gangs and "foreigners" so beloved of elements of today's press also excited the Victorian press. A very good , well researched book which should appeal to anyone with half an interest in London of the Victorian age.
A very well thought out and put together book which draws back the curtain on the so called Victorian values so beloved by certain elemnts of society today. The author sets out to parallel shock headlines of recent years with those same headlines in the good old days. The same features of drugs, gangs and "foreigners" so beloved of elements of today's press also excited the Victorian press. A very good , well researched book which should appeal to anyone with half an interest in London of the Victorian age.
July 12, 2017
One of the best books I have read this year
For people interested in social history, this is an unforgettable read. Beautifully written, it covers many aspects of Victorian life exposing the fallacy that except for the fortunate middle echelons of society, it was very far from the good old days. Whatever the shortcomings of the present day, we have so very much to be grateful for.
For people interested in social history, this is an unforgettable read. Beautifully written, it covers many aspects of Victorian life exposing the fallacy that except for the fortunate middle echelons of society, it was very far from the good old days. Whatever the shortcomings of the present day, we have so very much to be grateful for.
April 9, 2018
A portrait of life in Victorian London
The author has made a comparison of the "good old days" of the Victorian era with the present day.
The book provides a comprehensive look at life in Victorian London. Many subjects are covered including crime and punishment, the crushing poverty of the lowest classes, education, employment, disease, sanitation, inequality and others.
38
The author has made a comparison of the "good old days" of the Victorian era with the present day.
The book provides a comprehensive look at life in Victorian London. Many subjects are covered including crime and punishment, the crushing poverty of the lowest classes, education, employment, disease, sanitation, inequality and others.
38
August 3, 2021
A good introduction, and fair historical analysis, but not a book for me
Don't get me wrong, O'Neill has written a very accessible book from an interesting presumption. I should perhaps have checked before hand the intended target readership, as for me, there were few new insights, data, interpretations to keep me fully engaged. The Conclusion was helpful should I need to quote and the bibliography very useful.
For those fairly new to the era and subject areas discussed by O''Neil and of a liberal persuasion then I would without hesitation recommend the book. My 3 stars would, for a different reader starting out exploring Victorian poverty, crime and social policy and attitudes would probably and rightly give it 5!
Don't get me wrong, O'Neill has written a very accessible book from an interesting presumption. I should perhaps have checked before hand the intended target readership, as for me, there were few new insights, data, interpretations to keep me fully engaged. The Conclusion was helpful should I need to quote and the bibliography very useful.
For those fairly new to the era and subject areas discussed by O''Neil and of a liberal persuasion then I would without hesitation recommend the book. My 3 stars would, for a different reader starting out exploring Victorian poverty, crime and social policy and attitudes would probably and rightly give it 5!
May 10, 2021
Turns out (not that we should be surprised to learn it), the Good Old Days weren't that good after all. The comparisons between life in Victorian London (and a few other places which get a mention) and modern Britain are numerous and in parts, widely noted. The author has a bit of an axe to grind politically but she acknowledges this and mostly returns to Victorian days in reasonably short order. This is a well written book on a subject clearly close to the author's heart and, pops against the Tories not withstanding, largely worth the reading.
January 18, 2022
The author began with the assumption of people longing for the wonderful gold old days of the Victorian era when everything was so fine. Who thinks that? Who does not know A Christmas Carol, tales of Jack the Ripper, The Picture of Dorian Grey? We Yanks may not know much about QV, but we certainly know the above and those are all British things. Throw in a heavily entrenched classed society, cholera epidemics, and so on.
There was some good information but I have read much better histories set in Victorian England with much better writing.
There was some good information but I have read much better histories set in Victorian England with much better writing.
December 22, 2018
A decent read
This book makes the case that our “back in the good old days” dreams are misguided and misinformed. We cover crimes and punishment, vices and living conditions during the Victorian era. Quite eye opening and shocking. The only critique I have to offer is that the author sprinkles this fairly extended essay piece with “my mother” or “my aunt” or “people like me”. I feel this is out of place and takes away from the rather clinical tone of the rest of the piece.
This book makes the case that our “back in the good old days” dreams are misguided and misinformed. We cover crimes and punishment, vices and living conditions during the Victorian era. Quite eye opening and shocking. The only critique I have to offer is that the author sprinkles this fairly extended essay piece with “my mother” or “my aunt” or “people like me”. I feel this is out of place and takes away from the rather clinical tone of the rest of the piece.
October 5, 2024
A strange book which attacks a straw man.Does any one really think the Good Old Days were good?She demolished this idea and then assumes that’s the same as Victorian values as espoused by Thatcher-of course it’s not.So this book is simply a collection of stories about Victorian crimes and punishment with little attempt at analysis.Disappointing and not very well written so I skimmed it.The stars indicate my acknowledgement of the work done.
September 10, 2022
I was looking for a book with some history of London before traveling there. This book was quite useful for learning about the seedier past of the city, and the really shocking conditions for the poor and marginalized there, that we often don't discuss. It did feel like the book jumped around a bit, though, making it a bit difficult to follow at times.
February 16, 2017
This fascinating book tells you all you didn't know about life on the streets of Victorian London.
Great read and highly recommended.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Endeavour via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
Great read and highly recommended.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Endeavour via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
February 14, 2019
Really good book and very revealing.
Great insights into how most people really lived and worked in Victorian London. Shows what dire conditions the poor lived in and how hard their lives were.
Great insights into how most people really lived and worked in Victorian London. Shows what dire conditions the poor lived in and how hard their lives were.
August 3, 2020
All the best parts of the good old days: early death, disease, pestilence, filth, rats, plague, starvation, freezing to death, prostitution, alcoholism, over crowding, incest, sexual abuse (at any and every age), not to mention open sewage... oh ya, good times!
February 5, 2021
Really interesting facts and figures from sources written in the Victorian era. I was a bit disappointed that the author didn't offer much of her own perspective. At times it felt like I was just reading a list of sources.
December 7, 2023
4star audiobook
If you like Victorian history and want to hear about the other 99% of the people during this time then this audiobook is for you.
Its read by a guy that sounds like the head butler from Downton Abbey and gives like a true crime podcast.
If you like Victorian history and want to hear about the other 99% of the people during this time then this audiobook is for you.
Its read by a guy that sounds like the head butler from Downton Abbey and gives like a true crime podcast.
May 9, 2017
Well written
A very well written book. I have read many of this kind and although it was much the same as the rest it is still worth a go.
A very well written book. I have read many of this kind and although it was much the same as the rest it is still worth a go.
September 17, 2017
Enjoyed this book
Its a decent read about the difficulties of life for the majority in the Victorian times. Life and existence was hard and serious divisions existed
Its a decent read about the difficulties of life for the majority in the Victorian times. Life and existence was hard and serious divisions existed
December 28, 2017
An actual view of the horrible Victorian time! You thought we had it bad now; it doesn't begin to compare!
May 28, 2018
Great info, very edifying. little dry.
May 21, 2019
Three words: insightful, bold, dark
August 25, 2019
Crime
Having read a couple of other Victorian crime books I read this one with interest. Easy to read would recommend
Having read a couple of other Victorian crime books I read this one with interest. Easy to read would recommend
July 12, 2020
It was alright. Mostly quotes from contemporary writers and anecdotes about the authors life.
May 25, 2025
like a true crime blog from the 1880's. life really was not easy.
December 21, 2016
Was the Victorian period really so good, was it so much better than the present day Britain. If you think so read about the East End of London in Victoria's day - the problems, the crime, the poverty.
I probably would have preferred that the information that was obtained from that era was actually incorporated into her text rather than as separate sections in the chapters.
But still an interesting read especially if you are interested in social history.
A NetGalley Book.
I probably would have preferred that the information that was obtained from that era was actually incorporated into her text rather than as separate sections in the chapters.
But still an interesting read especially if you are interested in social history.
A NetGalley Book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews