Charles Booth's London: A Portrait of the Poor at the Turn of the Century, Drawn from His Life and Labour of the People in London

by Charles Booth, Albert Fried (Editor), Richard M. Elman (Editor)

Charles Booth's London A Portrait of the Poor at the Turn of the Century (Penguin Classics)

440 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Charles Booth was an English philanthropist and social researcher. He is most famed for his innovative work on documenting working class life in London at the end of the 19th century, work that along with that of Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree influenced government intervention against poverty in the early 20th century.

Reviews

[Dorothy Piper · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is hard to sum up in a few words what I gleaned from this long, deeply detailed record, which was devoted to excerpts from Charles Booth's original work. Suffice it to say I was shocked to the core while reading about the atrocious living conditions of Londoners (particularly those trapped in Wapping, Stepney and Whitechapel) in the 19th century. The demon drink accounted for much of their misery, coupled with the hopelessness of their existence. Conditions were so bad it was impossible to bring about the necessary reformations, and several governing bodies gave up trying. It was a sobering read, but having had great-grandparents who ran a public house in Wapping in the 1880s, I wanted to read about their daily lives. Family historians might find this book useful when looking for old relatives as the names of many streets and families are given in it.