Ebook: Respectability and the London Poor, 1780-1870: The Value of Virtue

The population of London soared during the Industrial Revolution and the poorer areas became iconic places of overcrowding and vice. Recent studies of the 'civilizing mission' of middle-class Londoners determined to instigate social reform, have treated the poor as a single, uniform group. Though a gradual shift towards respectability is indisputable, MacKay argues for a more fragmentary picture. Focusing on the communities of Westminster, she shows that many of the plebeian populace retained traditional working-class pursuits, such as gambling, drinking and blood sports.