Victorian England, the working class

[Alex]

Hey guys, so most novels sets in Victorian England that I'm coming across are about well-off people, but I'm not interested in balls and dresses and taking tea in the parlour. Anyone have any recommendations for books featuring working class people? I'm after crowded houses, factory workers, consumption, thieves and prostitutes.

I loved The Crimson Petal and the White and The Tea Rose, particularly the descriptions of the poorer areas of London if anything can suggest something similar to them. Thanks in advance!

[Tocotin]

Have you tried Fingersmith by Sarah Waters? It's pretty good.

[Kate]

A Song Twice Over is very good (don't mind the trashy cover listed on the GR version; it's a great book). There are dual heroines, one well-born and one not, so there is a certain amount of tea and ballrooms, but there's a lot about the Chartist movement, the Industrial Revolution, the Irish famine, and an Irish sewing girl trying to support an illegitimate child and a deadbeat family by becoming a fashionable dressmaker.

[Rebecca]

Sarah Waters' first three novels are set in the darker part of London -- along with Fingersmith I'd recommend Affinity and Tipping the Velvet. They do have very strong sexual content, but they are all brilliantly written.

[Alex]

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I have read Tipping the Velvet already, but I hear good things about Sarah Waters' other books, so I'll give them a go.

Looks like A Song Twice Over is set in Yorkshire, Kate, so I'll definitely have to read it as that's where I live! Thanks for the recommedation :-D

[Geoff]

Zee try R.L.Delderfield's books - I've read his Swan saga books, which start around the mid 1800's - details below copied from the web site.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/d/r...

Adam Swann, scion of an army family, returns home in 1858 after service with Her Majesty's army in the Crimea and India, determined to build his fortune in the dog-eat-dog world of Victorian commerce. Swann is captivated by Henrietta, the high-spirited daughter of a local mill owner. The two share adventures, reversal and fortune.

Swann's adventures are continued in THEIRS WAS THE KINGDOM.

"Delderfield writes with vigor, unceasing narrative drive and a high degree of craftsmanship." (The New York Times)

Also try Howard Spring - when I was at sea I read most of his works and they take you out of yourself - or they did me :-o)

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/h...
'Hard Facts' set around 1880
'My son, my son' this was made in to a film
'Tumbledown Dick'
'Fame is the Spur ' another one turned in to a film
'The houses in between' from 1848 to 1948

[Caroline]

I loved "The Tea Rose"! One of my favorite books ever. Have you read the sequel, "The Winter Rose"?

Also try "The Dress Lodger" by Sheri Holman.

[Gary]

Dickens' "Hard Times" is a classic about the conditions of the working class in Victorian England. I can't think of anything better written at the time, or later.Hard Times

[Chris]

I also love The Crimson Petal and the White- one of my favorite books. Another great story along those lines is Slammerkin. For a gritty, true-life account of Victorian London's East-End, i.e. Whitechapel, try Jack London's The People of the Abyss. He wrote about his first-hand experiences while living there incognito for several months. Happy reading:)

[Gary]

In addition to Dickens' Hard Times, I recommend Elizabeth Gaskell's novels to get a good contemporary view of working class life in Victorian England.

[Alex]

Some of these recommendations look fab! I've actually already got Slammerkin on order and have been recommended The Dress Lodger more than once now.

Caroline - I loved The Winter Rose just as much as The Tea Rose! Still have the third to read and I've heard it isn't as good, but I'll still love revisiting the characters one more time.

[Lori Ann]

Hi, I fell upon this book after reading The Tea Rose, it is very informative as to how the poor lived. Please check it out if you are interested in this topic. London Labour and the London Poor

[Chrissie]

Lori, LLATLP looks like a very interesting book. As I understand it is organized thematically. Is it written as a dry text book in your opinion? The review says the opposite, that it really lets the people voice the conditions of their lives. Could you feel empathy for these characters? I was thinking that since this is a collection of many, many peoples voices maybe this element of compassion can't arise. What is your take? It certainly sounds interesting, and it is available on Kindle so I can read the sample! Thank you for telling us.

[C.P.]

Also try Anne Perry's mystery series. William Monk (begins with Face of a Stranger) is 1860s or so, and Thomas Pitt (The Cater Street Hangman) starts a bit later. The main characters are not working class, but almost every mystery involves class conflict and working-class scenes.

The most recent Emily Ashton mystery, written by Tasha Alexander, also looks at London factory life. I am blocking on the name, but it includes the word "red." Published in 2011.

And Dickens, of course, is the go-to guy for 19th-century London.

[Lori Ann]

The LLATLP starts off very interesting and it's wonderful in the first half of the book to understand how people of that time lived. It is extremely detailed but by the time you get half way or more through the book, the stories don't necessarily repeat themselves but the authors accounting gets repetative. He is very precise about money however the detail he gives to the lives of the children is something to experience. I would read this book in small bites rather than a big gulp. I still give it a big thumbs up though!

[Chrissie]

Lori, just from the little bit I sampled on the Kindle, I realize that it is very detailed and very comprehensive. Almost to be used as a reference book. Thanks.

[Jaye]

The Quincunx was recommended to me, it's way up there on my to-read list.
Here's a great review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[happy]

If you like mysteries with your historical fiction, Edward Marston's Railway Detective series is not bad. They are set in the 1850s

http://www.goodreads.com/series/43616...

[Alex]

Some of these recommendations look fab, thanks guys!

[C.P.]

Another discussion reminded me of a book that may be useful. It is certainly Victorian, although I am not sure how working-class. Tremendous fun, though, and probably has some good information: At Home: A Short History of Private Life.