Research Guides: ENGL 2323- British Lit 1780-Present: Poverty

SubTopics

Chimney Sweeps and Climbing Boys
Being a chimney sweep, or climbing boy as they were often called, was a harsh and dangerous profession. Those employed were often orphans or from impoverished backgrounds, sold into the job by their parents.

The working classes and the poor-British Library
The Victorians liked to have their social classes clearly defined. The working class was divided into three layers, the lowest being ‘working men’ or labourers, then the ‘intelligent artisan’, and above him the ‘educated working man’. In reality, things were not so tidily demarcated. Temporrary link until the British Library fix website issues.
Charles Booth and the Survey into Life and Labour in London (1886-1903)
Provides an index to the original records of Booth’s Inquiry into the Life and Labour of the People in London, an extensive study of working class life undertaken between 1886 and 1903, which is archived at the London School of Economics and Political Science library. Also contains a great deal of digitized material, including police notebooks and the Maps Descriptive of London Poverty, in which maps of London were color-coded to indicate the poverty level and social class in different area.