Poverty Amidst Prosperity: The Urban Poor in England, 1834-1914 (New Frontiers in History)

England was the wealthiest nation in the world in the 19th century, but urban poverty remained widespread and deep. Many observers sought to explain this awful paradox. In their investigations they asked whether the poor were to blame for their position because of their feckless lifestyles, or were they pushed into it by an unfair economic system? This study addresses the issues raised by middle-class outsiders, but in a fresh approach it focuses on the urban poor themselves and explains their way of life from within. Using working-class autobiographies and evidence from working-class people themselves, Carl Chinn shows how people reacted to poverty and brings to the fore their coping strategies. He asserts that the urban poor were not passive victims of their circumstances but that they fought against poverty with the support of neighbours and kin, and that they formed thriving villages in a dreadful environment. This book provides an introduction for students seeking to understand poverty from "below" as well as "above". Its wide range of evidence, clear analysis and strong argument stress the importance of communities and give a voice to those whom traditional history has marginalized.