First published in 1969, this book presents a one-volume anthology of Charles Booth’s Life and Labour of the People in London, the classic early study of the poor in the urban environment. The original text consists of a vast compendium of descriptions of families, homes, streets, conditions of work, cultural and religious practices, much of it illustrated with charts, maps and statistics — giving the public an idea of the dimensions and meaning of poverty. The editors have selected the extracts in this book for their vividness, readability and intrinsic interest, and their introduction conveys the context of 1880s London — relating Booth’s investigations to contemporary concerns.

Albert Fried is Professor of history at the State University of New York, Purchase. He has published many books and was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

Richard M. Elman was a novelist, poet, journalist, and teacher. At various times over the course of his career, he taught creative writing: at Bennington College (1967- 68), Bennington College Summer Writing Workshop (1974-), Columbia University (1968-1976), Sarah Lawrence (1970), The University of Pennsylvania (1981-83), University of Arizona (Fall 1985)Notre Dame, and Stony Brook University.