Synopses & Reviews
In Victorian London, filth was everywhere: horse traffic filled the streets with dung, household rubbish went uncollected, cesspools brimmed with andquot;night soil,andquot; graveyards teemed with rotting corpses, the air itself was choked with smoke. In this intimately visceral book, Lee Jackson guides us through the underbelly of the Victorian metropolis, introducing us to the men and women who struggled to stem a rising tide of pollution and dirt, and the forces that opposed them.
Through thematic chapters, Jackson describes how Victorian reformers met with both triumph and disaster. Full of individual stories and overlooked detailsandmdash;from the dustmen who grew rich from recycling, to the peculiar history of the public toiletandmdash;this riveting book gives us a fresh insight into the minutiae of daily life and the wider challenges posed by the unprecedented growth of the Victorian capital.
Review
and#39;So much meticulous research packaged into such a vividly readable narrative. I loved it.and#39; - Liza Picard, author of Victorian London
Review
and#39;and#39;I canand#39;t think of a better companion with whom to explore Londonand#39;s underbelly - expert, engaging and approachable.and#39; - Sarah Wise, author of The Blackest Streets: The Life and Death of a Victorian Slum
Review
andlsquo;Dirty Old London is a treat andndash; truly Victorian, in that it is shocking, entertaining, educational and grisly by turns.andrsquo; andndash; Catharine Arnold, author of Necropolis: London and its Dead
Review
andlsquo;The squalor of Victorian London was proverbial. Lee Jacksonandrsquo;s revelatory clean-up goes behind the headlines to allow us to see not just what, but why, London was so dirty.andrsquo; - Judith Flanders, author of The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickensand#39; London
Review
andlsquo;This is a fascinating work that will engage both those interested in Victorian in general and London in particular.andrsquo;andmdash;Stephen Halliday, BBC History Magazine
Review
andlsquo;I thought I knew nineteenth-century London-this book made me smell it. . .Mud: itandrsquo;s so often mentioned in Victorian literature, but I didnandrsquo;t know what it was until I read this admirable book.andrsquo;andmdash;Clive Aslet, Country Lifeandnbsp;
Review
and#39;This is a tightly argued, meticulously researched history of sanitation that reads like a novel.and#39; - Paula Byrne, The Timesandnbsp;
Review
andldquo;Jackson demonstrates the unimaginable filth that permeated London during the 19th century . . . A well-researched, if unpalatable, picture of a filthy city and the different factions fighting for and against reform using class distinctions, gender inequality and horrendous poor laws.andrdquo;andmdash;Kirkus Reviews
Review
andldquo;Lee Jackson stops to have a good poke around andndash; and consider in fascinating, sometimes gruesome detail, the filth and nuisances of the time . . . Utterly engrossing.andrdquo;andmdash;Jo Baker, The New York Times Book Review
Review
While the subject of Dirty Old London is often, unavoidably, off-putting, it is also endlessly intriguing.andrdquo;andmdash;Shelf Awareness
Review
andldquo;Impressive . . . [Lee] Jackson has written a book that is neat and sparkling, unlike his subject matter.andrdquo;andmdash;Emily Cockayne, The Wall Street Journal
Review
andldquo;An atypical look at Londonandrsquo;s social history. Jackson manages to make a disgusting topic much funnier than one would expect.andrdquo;andmdash;Library Journal
Review
andlsquo;Jackson, andldquo;a noted Victorianistandrdquo;, has put in time in archives all over London, as one can see from the depth and breadth of the bookandrsquo;s detail.andrsquo;andmdash;Rose George,
New Statesman.
About the Author
Lee Jackson is a well-known Victorianist and creator of a preeminent website on Victorian London (www.victorianlondon.org).