Non-Fiction Books

Victorian London is a guide to the London of this period, and the glorious evidence that remains in London's landscape and today's society. Lee Jackson is an entertaining guide who relates his detailed knowledge of many aspects of the social history of the period: architecture, popular culture, education, crime and punishment,

From slums to suburbs, freak-shows to fast food, prisons to pornography, 'A Dictionary of Victorian London' is a fascinating exposé of everyday life in the Great Metropolis of Victorian London. Compiling authentic nineteenth-century voices from a multitude of sources, including advertisements, diaries, court cases, journalism and guidebooks, Lee Jackson paints a unique picture of life in a vibrant and diverse city in an alphabetical guide. With striking contemporary illustrations throughout, this is a must-read for anyone interested in the remarkable history of London and the enthralling lives of the Victorians.

This anthology has one simple goal: to give the reader a flavour of 'how life was lived' in Victorian London, through the words of the Victorians themselves. It is not a comprehensive study; but I have revisited an archive of ten years' reading and research — nineteenth century diaries, newspapers, magazines, memoirs, guidebooks — in an attempt to include as many diverse aspects of Victorian life as possible. There is, I must admit, a certain bias in my choice of material: I concentrate on the poor and middle-class. Queen Victoria is glimpsed at a distance, in Hyde Park; MPs and members of the aristocracy appear as the patrons of charities; but this is a book about the everyday. Some of these excerpts make for rather grim reading: the graphic account of a botched back-street abortion; the plight of homeless children, abandoned by their parents; the fever-ridden slums of Jacob's Island. Crime is also to the fore: attempts at blackmail; the rise of the 'hooligan' in Lambeth; the vicious malice of the 'vitriol thrower'. Likewise, it is impossible to neglect the scourge of prostitution in the capital, albeit with one rare instance of a 'soiled dove' who 'made good'. I have, therefore, included a few gratuitous doses of quirky Victoriana, to leaven the mix: advice on keeping pet squirrels; the invention of the snail telegraph (the supposed power of 'escargotic vibration'); how to make tooth powder (with the obligatory drop of cocaine). I also focus on street life. Hence you will find articles about the giant 'advertising vans' which blocked major thoroughfares; races between rival omnibus companies; the wall painters who engaged in 'guerilla advertising'; the delights of Victorian fast food (sheep's trotters, anyone?). This book, at its best, should provide a vicarious form of time travel. The reader will feel, I hope, that they have walked the streets of Victorian London and, having read the more intimate passages — how to remove bed-bugs; tips on wet-nursing; dire warnings against 'secret vice' — that they have also glimpsed behind closed doors. Some things herein may appear quaint — complaints against the immorality of the 'can-can'; disdain for women practising 'bloomerism' (ie. wearing trousers); the unlikely forfeits demanded by parlour games — but they all throw a revealing light on the distinctive mores of the time. I hope, too, that a few things will surprise and astonish, to the extent that they seem almost unbelievable (although, rest assured, this work contains no fabrications). Have you ever heard of the enterprising showman who started his 'Jack the Ripper' chamber of horrors in Whitechapel, within weeks of the 1888 murders? Or the peculiar safeguards afforded by corsets? Or the bar-maids who worked in Underground stations? Or the first (and last) Mesmeric Hospital established in London? It may seem presumptuous to call this an extraordinary anthology; yet it is the extraordinary details of daily life in the 'Great Metropolis' that continue to fascinate me. My only wish is that the reader may share my enthusiasm. Lee Jackson 2011 Also by this author: 'Dust, Mud, Soot & Soil : The Worst Jobs in Victorian London'

Dickens' London is a unique work that recreates the sights, sounds and smells of Dickens' London and provides a detailed itinerary for those keen to follow in the footsteps of 'The Inimitable Boz'. Each entry conjures up forgotten scenes of London life – stage-coaches racing through the Borough; landing a catch at Billingsgate market; the uproar of a hanging outside Newgate Gaol – together with pointers to the most atmospheric, astonishing and esoteric parts of the Victorian metropolis which have survived into the twenty-first century. Step back into the past: savour the opportunity to dine in a nineteenth century chop-house; explore the rookery of Seven Dials; take tea in one of the Inns of Court; visit a Victorian operating theatre – all this and much more. Drawing upon Dickens' life and work, from museums and monuments to hidden alleys, mews and courtyards; from railway stations and riverside taverns to grim slums and gaslight  – Dickens' London : A Timetraveller's Guide is an indispensable guide for anyone exploring Victorian London. Dickens' London : A Timetraveller's Guide is written by the acclaimed historical novelist Lee Jackson, whose encyclopaedic website  'The Dictionary of Victorian London' (www.victorianlondon.org) is well-known to all those interested in the history of the 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, 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.

An energetic and exhilarating account of the Victorian entertainment industry, its extraordinary success and enduring impact The Victorians invented mass entertainment. As the nineteenth century’s growing industrialized class acquired the funds and the free time to pursue leisure activities, their every whim was satisfied by entrepreneurs building new venues for popular amusement. Contrary to their reputation as dour, buttoned-up prudes, the Victorians reveled in these newly created ‘palaces of pleasure’. In this vivid, captivating book, Lee Jackson charts the rise of well-known institutions such as gin palaces, music halls, seaside resorts and football clubs, as well as the more peculiar attractions of the pleasure garden and international exposition, ranging from parachuting monkeys and human zoos to theme park thrill rides. He explores how vibrant mass entertainment came to dominate leisure time and how the attempts of religious groups and secular improvers to curb ‘immorality’ in the pub, variety theater and dance hall faltered in the face of commercial success. The Victorians’ unbounded love of leisure created a nationally significant and influential economic force: the modern entertainment industry.