Dirty Old London

The Victorian Fight Against Filth

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Pub Date 15 Oct 2015 | Archive Date 08 Oct 2015
Yale University Press, London | Yale University Press

Description

In Victorian London, filth was everywhere: horse traffic filled the streets with dung, household rubbish went uncollected, cesspools brimmed with "night soil," 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 details--from the dustmen who grew rich from recycling, to the peculiar history of the public toilet--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.

In Victorian London, filth was everywhere: horse traffic filled the streets with dung, household rubbish went uncollected, cesspools brimmed with "night soil," graveyards teemed with rotting corpses...


Advance Praise

'This is a tightly argued, meticulously researched history of sanitation that reads like a novel.' - Paula Byrne, The Times.
‘This is a fascinating work that will engage both those interested in Victorian in general and London in particular.’—Stephen Halliday, BBC History Magazine
‘Rich in wonderful contemporary details gleaned from newspapers and archives, Jackson’s study is a vivid account of the enormous challenges faced by a city expanding at an unprecedented rate.’—P. D. Smith

'This is a tightly argued, meticulously researched history of sanitation that reads like a novel.' - Paula Byrne, The Times.
‘This is a fascinating work that will engage both those interested in...


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9780300216110
PRICE £9.99 (GBP)

Average rating from 21 members


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