The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London

This is a wonderful, detailed book about historical aspects of London during Dickens' life. I had read a previous book by the same author (Victorian House) which was equally excellent. I am still in the process of reading it but I highly recommend this author for detailed, historical information during the Victorian period.

Aficionados of Dickens might think they understand the workings of the Victorian city by reading his novels. Judith Flanders' massively researched tome proves that there was a lot more to life at that time. Drawing on a wealth of sources - court documents, commentaries, newspaper articles, and other ephemera as well as novels, she creates a portrait of a teeming world that was simultaneously enticing, multifaceted, colorful, squalid, poverty-stricken, polluted and often downright dangerous. The book is divided into fifteen chapters, each offering a documentary-style snapshot of different aspects of London life. The first four chapters look at night life, and how difficult it was to get around the city with its clogged streets, unregulated traffic, lack of sidewalks and the perpetual threat of personal injury. The next four chapters look at the ways in which London's citizens learned to subsist; like many cities at that time, it was rigidly class-structured, with each class having its own way of life, diet and types of eating-house. However all of them had to endure the perpetual threat of disease, due to the polluted waters of the Thames and lack of proper sanitation. Entertainments were both varied and risqué; the idea of the Victorian era being a prudish period - due in no small part to the lifestyle adopted by the Queen - is thoroughly exploded. Some things do not change: Flanders' description of the elaborate funeral of the Duke of Wellington bears strong resemblances to modern-day funerals, notably those of Princess Diana and the late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The book ends on a somber note as Flanders talked about the perpetual threat of violence lurking in London's streets. Most of it was comprised of petty crimes, but still many people were vulnerable, especially the women forced to go on the streets. THE VICTORIAN CITY is one of those books that can be read cover-to-cover or dipped into: each chapter can be read standalone. Whatever way readers choose to approach the book, it is a thoroughly entertaining experience.