London Labour and the London Poor

[glyn]

Anyone know if a complete version of Mayhews work is available? Ive bought the wordsworths classic and penguin editions but they are only selections ,much in one version overlaps that of the other.Downloaded another selection off of guttenburg,but would like the commplete work.I ve seen an 1868 version on sale for £600 ..I want it -but not that much. Tried Amazon and book libri..no lucjk So guess its not in print ..but just in case one of youse lot know better......

[Chris]

Anyone know if a complete version of Mayhews work is available? Ive bought the wordsworths classic and penguin editions but they are only selections ,much in one version overlaps that of the other.Downloaded another selection off of guttenburg,but would like the commplete work.I ve seen an 1868 version on sale for £600 ..I want it -but not that much. Tried Amazon and book libri..no lucjk So guess its not in print ..but just in case one of youse lot know better......

It looks as though all the volumes are available at the Internet Archive, though which edition is which may take a bit of working out:

http://tinyurl.com/5sqkmgc

[glyn]

Thanks Chris ,I shall DEFINITELY take a gander at that.Incidentally,When I bought the volumes mentioned I thought I would be in for a difficult and trying read.But the opposite was true,in spite of the dated prose and "lecturing" tone in places ,I couldnt put it down.Couldnt reccomend it more ,in fact if the volumes had contained 2000 more pages I would have read them all.
Again many thanks for the heads up.

[Adam Went]

Hi Glyn,

I also have a Wordsworth edition of Mayhew's work, which is around 650 pages long. Definitely agree with you that it's difficult to put the book down, it's a brilliant reference from the Victorian period and i've recommended it like a cracked record on multiple topics.

But as for your question, this might sound extremely stupid - and it probably is - but have you tried Google Books? Sometimes you can find obscure bits and pieces like that on there for free, I tracked down Jack London's "People Of The Abyss" through that method.

Cheers,
Adam.

[Wickerman]

I tend to buy through Bookfinder.com. I see Dover are selling volumes 1 & 6, yet Blackwells are offering a 4 volume set for £400.00.

Certainly an invaluable source..

Good luck.

[glyn]

Hi Glyn,

I also have a Wordsworth edition of Mayhew's work, which is around 650 pages long. Definitely agree with you that it's difficult to put the book down, it's a brilliant reference from the Victorian period and i've recommended it like a cracked record on multiple topics.

But as for your question, this might sound extremely stupid - and it probably is - but have you tried Google Books? Sometimes you can find obscure bits and pieces like that on there for free, I tracked down Jack London's "People Of The Abyss" through that method.

Cheers,
Adam.

Hi Adam,
Its all there on Chris s link ,God Bless him.....Reading off of the computer screen isnt the best,but in the abscence of the real thing,its more than good enough for me.I couldnt agree more with you ,fantastic !
Once again Thank you much Chris.

[Chris]

Its all there on Chris s link

I'm pleased to hear that. I find it's always worth checking the Internet Archive Text section as well as Google Books, as there's quite a lot there from Microsoft's rival scanning project, now sadly discontinued. It also seems that there are some Google volumes there which are now only available as "snippets" through Google itself.

[Adam Went]

Something of a shame that Mayhew died in 1887, just before the Ripper murders, as it might have been interesting to see what commentary, if any, he would have made on the East End in 1888 during that situation.

Anyway, glad that you've found what you're looking for, Glyn!

Cheers,
Adam.

[cappuccina]

Thank you for posting this! The detail in these volumes is amazing! In reading about the different vendors of used goods, I could not help but be struck by the irony that the wares they were peddling back then to barely eke out a living are now worth quite a bit of money, some things a veritable small fortune, at antique sellers, Ebay and the like...

[glyn]

Something of a shame that Mayhew died in 1887, just before the Ripper murders, as it might have been interesting to see what commentary, if any, he would have made on the East End in 1888 during that situation.

Anyway, glad that you've found what you're looking for, Glyn!

Cheers,
Adam.

That would have been a treasure trove of information Adam.Imagine the opinions,rumours etc regarding Jack the Ripper that would have come from the mouths of costermongers,Street folk etc.
Cappucina,
The voice of the poor indeed,of all the History books handed down to us,Ive always maintained that the "Oral "histories are by far the best,Studs Terkel and his works spring to mind,but dont these characters pick you up by the scruff of the neck,and drag you screaming ,crying.... and laughing at times too,through page after page.What a refreshing change from the majority of History books which are Flat,Dull and though full of facts ,and no doubt informative,leave the reader uninspired and relieved when the book has come to an end..Its a gem,no less.

[cappuccina]

I agree with you, Glyn! I am so glad these works have not been lost...

[Adam Went]

One other interesting thing to do with these works is to compare similarities between the works of Mayhew, Charles Booth and then Jack London - together these span virtually the entire Victorian era and therefore is an insight into the era as a whole rather than one specific period of years or a decade.

Cheers,
Adam.