London - Urban explorers and commentators

The West End

Author: George Sims

Title: Living London (1901)

Keywords: London

Pages: Introduction |  1  |

Introduction

English journalist, novelist, poet, and dramatist George Robert Sims was born in Kennington, south London, in 1847. His lively and satirical style helped draw attention to the plight of the poor in London’s slums. Sims died in London in 1922. This short extract is from Living London, his 3-volume publication that chronicles a variety of London life. Sims also wrote on social ills such as the white slave trade and the abuse of children, as well as campaigning for the opening of museums and galleries on Sundays. More problematically for his progressive contemporaries, he also argued that the lower middle-classes were overtaxed in a social order that saw them caught between the state, big business, and organized labour.

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