The Victorian Underworld

New York: New York University Press, 1998. BRAND NEW in a BRAND NEW dust jacket. Perfect condition. NO chips. NO tears. NO creases. Bright, clean, square and tight. Sharp corners. NO owner's name or bookplate. NOT a remainder. NOT a library discard. Fresh and crisp -- obviously never read. 1998. First American Edition. 55 illustrations from period sources. A fascinating look at Victorian society's underbelly where prostitutes, thieves, beggars, cheats, forgers and pickpockets thrived by preying on rich and poor alike. Includes material from the life stories of criminals as recorded by Henry Mayhew (1812-1887). Bound in the original black boards, lettered in shiny gold on the spine. From the dust jacket: "William Makepeace Thackeray wrote that the wonders of the Victorian underworld 'have been lying by your door and mine ever since we had a door of our own.' Donald Thomas here pushes open that door to reveal a world both strange and strangely familiar, inviting casual voyeur and serious historian alike to cross its threshold. Applying his talent for colorful biography to chronicle an entire age, Thomas shows us, through the eyes of its inhabitants, the teeming underbelly… Defined by night houses and cigar divans, populated by street people like the running-patterer with his news of murder, and entertainers like the Fire King, the underworld was an insular yet diffuse community, united by its deep hatred of the police. In its gin shops and taverns… thrived thieves and beggars, cheats, forgers, and pickpockets, preying on rich and poor alike. Career criminals often showed a craftsmanship that would put their descendants to shame. It took true professionals to remove the modern equivalent of twenty million dollars from the Bank of England. In one case, conspirators even recruited officers from Scotland Yard... Bringing to light the ugly realities of daily life in the underworld, Thomas also tours the convict hulks and Dickensian prisons of the day to paint a grim picture of the losers in the mounting war on crime. Rich in anecdote and vividly recounted, The Victorian Underworld brings the past alive like few recent works of history." Keywords: Charles Dickens (20 citations to him in index).. First American Edition. Hardcover. New condition/New dust jacket. 8vo. (vi), 346pp. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping.