The Metropolitan Districts

Real life London in 1849-50. A journey through the back streets and into the lives of the people in early Victorian London.

Henry Mayhew, the pioneering social investigative journalist, takes us around the capital and reveals a hidden life—the real Dickens’ London. He ventures into places where only the very poorest are forced to tread, interviews the people encountered and publishes their words.

Henry Mayhew was the “Special Correspondent” for The Morning Chronicle tasked with the investigation into the Metropolitan Districts. It was his wonderfully written article “A Visit to the Cholera Districts of Bermondsey” that was the reputed catalyst for the series.

The letters give a fascinating insight into the poor people of London, in their own words. Their often terrible living and working conditions, surrounded by the incredible wealth that was Victorian London, their desperation and their daily struggles for survival, really come to life.

We have also included the Letters to the Editor which flooded in in response to the revelations in the letters. These make fascinating reading.

You can click on the book covers for specific details of each volume including the Table of Contents and preview each volume, which includes sample chapters and indexes for print editions and a link to Amazon for the Kindle preview.

Due to the immense scale of the investigation we have split the Metropolitan District letters into four separate volumes:⁠—

The Metropolitan Districts I

The Metropolitan Districts II

The Metropolitan Districts III

The Metropolitan Districts IV