Customer Reviews

The London Underworld in the Victorian Period: Authentic First-Person Accounts by Beggars, Thieves and Prostitutes (v. 1)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The book is heavily referenced in Theodore Dalrymple's "Life at the Bottom" and due to the impact of that work, I placed an order for Mayhew's classic work.

Personally, for a survey of the side of London that Merchant Ivory films tend to miss, this book isn't the way to go.

Ideally, this should be a resource for Sociologists like Dalrymple or perhaps criminologists.

The extensive statistics and, frankly, difficult to decipher language of that time, make for a tedious read for the layperson.

I ordered this book as part of my ongoing obsession with the Victorian era. (Blame Sarah Waters.)

The accounts are fascinating in and of themselves. I was ready for a lot of one-sided moralising from the author, Mayhew, but he has (had?) a very modern approach to the plight of London's poor. It was a pleasant surprise to realise that people of the era could see and understand the social injustice of the time.

Having read the words of the beggars, thieves and prostitutes, it is difficult to understand how some of them (particularly the prostitutes) could have done anything other than what they did. I feel almost as if I know them now - this book is the next best thing to actually meeting and speaking with these people.

Best of all I never felt like I was ploughing through the book, working to get an understanding of the people. I raced through the book, fascinated. Later I went back, re-reading certain parts.

More than worth the price.

I read Mayhew's Characters, a 1950's edition of selections by Quennell. It is great! The London street life is vividly described by those who live it. Mayhew evidently was only interested in the poor, in a time when class differences were drastic thanks to the Industrial Revolution. We hear from Street Patterers, A Watercress Vendor, Chimney Sweeps, Tramps and Prigs, and all kinds of interesting types. Quennell mentions Mayhew's Underworld, and I can't wait to read it!