The chapter “Wretched Housing” highlighted the state of a housing scheme for the less fortunate back in the days. It was not going to happen soon in a government that looked at the citizens’ purchasing power. Quick action needed to be taken to save their lives. Instead, they were more concerned about making the rich more comfortable at the expense of the poor. This situation could have been used to convince those in authority to take action. London resembled a large compost pit the environment became inhabitable Airborne diseases attacked the residents. Capitalism drove the government.Īll development projects stalled No expansion works took place. They distanced themselves from the central authority. People in the local authorities were busy fighting for power and wealth. London’s growth escalated the sewer system could not hold all the waste produced Stench filled the air. The writer highlights the political bickering that happened at that time. The parliament distanced itself from any works by the local government. These left the duties for the paving boards and local vestries. The writer documented how politicians neglected any responsibility for waste management. The writer of this book, with inspiration from George Bernard Shawn, talked at this filth and any effort to clean it up. The political class, who had the mandate to make policies on filth management, was only concerned about their well-being. The others are more recent that have greatly improved the sewer services.Īs the city’s population grew, there was pressure on the sewer networks. Only two sewer facilities served the London city the Bazalgette’ greater sewer networks and the Metropolitan Board of Works Sewer. They have stood the test of time in their usefulness. These 150 years old structures serve along with newer and prettier systems. They remain the few architectural structures that are in use in the current generation. The sewer network built by Joseph Bazalgette in the 1850s to 1860s in Victorian London testifies creativity and ingenuity of art. The book also provides the reader with a glimpse of how the politics of the time helped or hindered the development of modern sanitation. A lot of that is also dealt within the chapters of this book, and through this we get to learn how the Victorians linked poor sanitation to poor health and increased death rates. If not, then, the evidence of what that does into our lives and health has well been documented in history. This may appear arbitrary to more vital subjects in society, but most readers will agree to the fact that the foundations of any society are that the dirt and filth humans produce are dealt with in an orderly manner. The story is also divided into different chapters regarding the type of nuisance and filth it’s dealing with, and this gives us different chapters on subjects like soot, sewage, household refuse, and wretched housing. The book is history and monument to all those who bickered, agitated, planned, obstructed, invented and constructed in London from the end of the eighteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century. It’s also a recommended read for anyone involved in politics both locally and nationally. The Times described his 2014 Dirty Old London novel as a well-researched history of sanitation, which read like a book and was referred as utterly engrossing by the New York Times.ĭirty Old London is considered as a novel that should be a reader by everyone who intends to be involved in housing or city planning now or in the future. He is also the creator of The Dictionary of Victorian London website, which contains a massive compilation of primary sources that shows the social history of the 19th-century metropolis. He is a historian and author with interest in geography and the social history of Victorian London. Lee Jackson is an English author of mystery books best known for his Sarah Tanner and Decimus Webb series.
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