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The Dark Side of East London
Just hearing the phrase the East End summons up images of slums and dark alleyways, with Jack the Ripper appearing from the mist, or housing estates and pubs where you might find the Kray twins. It is a place of poverty and menace, yet these images can prevent us from seeing the reality of life east of the City of London, and of its dark history. This study features stories of crimes and misdeeds that show what life was like in this area before the 'East End' existed. They also reflect the changes caused as the settlements of the Tower Hamlets became absorbed by the new metropolis of London.
As there is nothing new under the sun, so these stories find their modern counterparts in our times. However, they also take us into unfamiliar territory as they bring to light the often forgotten past that underlies the present-day streets and lurks behind the facades of some of the area s older buildings. Many of the stories will be unfamiliar and indeed strange, but yet they show how the character and notoriety of the City s famous shadow has been formed. Paying scrupulous attention to place, this volume features a wealth of specially-commissioned photographs, allowing the reader to locate these stories in the present-day London Borough of Tower Hamlets."
As there is nothing new under the sun, so these stories find their modern counterparts in our times. However, they also take us into unfamiliar territory as they bring to light the often forgotten past that underlies the present-day streets and lurks behind the facades of some of the area s older buildings. Many of the stories will be unfamiliar and indeed strange, but yet they show how the character and notoriety of the City s famous shadow has been formed. Paying scrupulous attention to place, this volume features a wealth of specially-commissioned photographs, allowing the reader to locate these stories in the present-day London Borough of Tower Hamlets."
- GenresNonfictionHistory
208 pages, Hardcover
Published November 22, 2016
20 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 5, 2016
After spending the best part of my holiday in London last summer, I was excited to read about some of East London's earliest recorded crime history. I was not disappointed. David Charnick has taken a sometimes dry subject matter of criminal history (London's weavers) and made it very readable. I appreciated that he informs the reader the name of the present-day site for the misdeeds and crimes. The only complaint I have is that the illustrations mentioned in the book do not show up in the ARC. Thank you NetGalley and Pen and Sword for allowing me to read his ARC for a honest review.
January 25, 2018
I'm not hugely familiar with London and even less so with the east of the city, so it's been remarkably refreshing to read The Dark Side of East London and to learn things about the East End which I never knew existed. True, I'd heard the old Victorian myths and legends which sort of define the area, the most notorious being Jack the Ripper's association with its mean and murky streets, but what I didn't realise was that, in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, this area was blamed for so much social injustice, and thus was, ultimately accountable for pioneering social change within its boundaries.
The book is divided into nine absorbing chapters which highlight the darker days of crime and punishment, and as detail emerges, what becomes apparent is that this area of London was nearly always at the sharp end of the action. I think my favourite chapter has to be “Poison for the Asking” as in the days before the 1868 Pharmacy Act; it was all too easy for people to get their hands on noxious substances which they used, either in ignorance, or malice, with devastating and often, catastrophic effect.
The author writes with commendable knowledgeable insight into this area, it is, after all, a place he knows like the back of his hand. However, what’s so important is that his zeal and passion comes across in the stories he shares and in the amount of meticulous research which has gone into bringing the book to life. There is much to take in, and because of that, this is not a book to whiz through at high speed, rather it is more to be savoured slowly, allowing the facts to unfold in fascinating detail. The book also shares some specially commissioned photographs which help to put old and new into context and which show those areas which have been highlighted in the stories.
Those who are acquainted with this area will no doubt be familiar with some of its dark and convoluted history. I think that the author has done a commendable job of highlighting, perhaps, some of the more forgotten, but no less remarkable, history of The Dark Side of East London.
The book is divided into nine absorbing chapters which highlight the darker days of crime and punishment, and as detail emerges, what becomes apparent is that this area of London was nearly always at the sharp end of the action. I think my favourite chapter has to be “Poison for the Asking” as in the days before the 1868 Pharmacy Act; it was all too easy for people to get their hands on noxious substances which they used, either in ignorance, or malice, with devastating and often, catastrophic effect.
The author writes with commendable knowledgeable insight into this area, it is, after all, a place he knows like the back of his hand. However, what’s so important is that his zeal and passion comes across in the stories he shares and in the amount of meticulous research which has gone into bringing the book to life. There is much to take in, and because of that, this is not a book to whiz through at high speed, rather it is more to be savoured slowly, allowing the facts to unfold in fascinating detail. The book also shares some specially commissioned photographs which help to put old and new into context and which show those areas which have been highlighted in the stories.
Those who are acquainted with this area will no doubt be familiar with some of its dark and convoluted history. I think that the author has done a commendable job of highlighting, perhaps, some of the more forgotten, but no less remarkable, history of The Dark Side of East London.
December 2, 2021
I read this book, following a couple of online tours, presented by the author, on The Ripper Enigma and Peter Ackroyd's Monstrous East End. David Charnick is an extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic tour guide and these attributes come through strongly in this book.
The Book examines a number of dark aspects of Eat London, including highway robbery, mugging and poisoning, as illustrated by court cases, mainly from the 1800s, which show the societal effects of poverty at the time. Many of the historical locations are linked to their current-day statuses and names, so it possible to visit the sites of some of these events...
An interesting and detailed account of a number of historical misdeeds!
The Book examines a number of dark aspects of Eat London, including highway robbery, mugging and poisoning, as illustrated by court cases, mainly from the 1800s, which show the societal effects of poverty at the time. Many of the historical locations are linked to their current-day statuses and names, so it possible to visit the sites of some of these events...
An interesting and detailed account of a number of historical misdeeds!
May 22, 2023
‘London is an old city, yet also a city of the future; one of death and if life.’
Out of the 9 chapters in this book, I personally only found 4 to be of interest.
An ideal read if you have an interest in London, crime and history.
Out of the 9 chapters in this book, I personally only found 4 to be of interest.
An ideal read if you have an interest in London, crime and history.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews