eishiya reviewed The Victorian underworld by Donald Serrell Thomas
A colourful introduction
4 stars
The Victorian Underworld presents some of the juiciest tales of theft, murder, and corruption in the Victorian era from copious sources, as well as descriptions of prisons, sex work, and life of the poor more generally. The author distills his sources and picks out the most interesting and memorable details to create vivid vignettes. It's a brisk and enjoyable read, with a few period illustrations.
Its briskness is also a flaw - I occasionally found myself wishing it went into more details on some of its topics. Fortunately, its citations are detailed, and many of the older sources are now more accessible than ever thanks to sites like archive.org. In particular, its descriptions of street life, gangs, and sex work are based heavily on "London Labour and the London Poor", and if you're looking for depth and detail, you may as well go to the source.
If you're looking for …
The Victorian Underworld presents some of the juiciest tales of theft, murder, and corruption in the Victorian era from copious sources, as well as descriptions of prisons, sex work, and life of the poor more generally. The author distills his sources and picks out the most interesting and memorable details to create vivid vignettes. It's a brisk and enjoyable read, with a few period illustrations.
Its briskness is also a flaw - I occasionally found myself wishing it went into more details on some of its topics. Fortunately, its citations are detailed, and many of the older sources are now more accessible than ever thanks to sites like archive.org. In particular, its descriptions of street life, gangs, and sex work are based heavily on "London Labour and the London Poor", and if you're looking for depth and detail, you may as well go to the source.
If you're looking for an enjoyably written introduction, then I recommend The Victorian Underworld. Similarly, it's a good choice if you're an author looking to do only brief research on the subject, as it covers a lot very effectively.