Step into the streets of Victorian London through the eyes of social reformer Charles Booth. Over six weeks, we will explore Booth’s ground-breaking survey Life & Labour of the People in London — a vivid and often startling portrait of the city’s social fabric, published in 17 volumes between 1889 and 1903.
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Using Booth’s famous ‘Poverty Map’, which accompanied the survey, we will take up-close looks at such neighbourhoods as Lambeth, Soho, Whitechapel/Spitalfields, Bethnal Green, Covent Garden, Docklands, Lisson Grove, complemented by historical photos/sketches and eyewitness accounts by contemporaries of Booth’s that either corroborate or contest his vision of London at the end of the 19th century.
Booth’s highly complex work will be broken down into comprehensible units so that the learner will gain an unusually high level of understanding of this massive, much-quoted but rarely fully-read survey of London life.
What will we cover?
Among the phenomena Booth investigated are: working-class political movements, women’s lives and economic status, religious/spiritual belief, late-Victorian immigrant experiences of the city, children and schools, the various trades of London.
What will I achieve? By the end of this course you should be able to...
Explain the basic concepts in Booth’ work
Identify the dominant socio-economic structure of late-19th-century London
Define the various political strands of thought current at the time
Recognise the characteristics of various individual London localities
Pursue further reading on these subjects, with a detailed bibliography/secondary reading list
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
No previous knowledge or skills are required, just curiosity and a willingness to engage with sometimes distressing data.
..
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
The course will be taught by illustrated lecture and class discussion.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
None. Handouts will be supplied and learners will be directed to the LSE’s Booth Poverty Map website which is full of free text and images in an easy-to-use format.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Other courses on London and British history starting in September/October. Please see the City Lit website.
Sarah Wise is an award-winning writer and historian, with an MA in Victorian Studies from Birkbeck, University of London. She teaches social history and literature at the University of California’s London Outreach Center. Her interests are urban history, working-class history, medical history and nineteenth-century literature and reportage. Her most recent book, Inconvenient People: Lunacy, Liberty and the Mad-Doctors in Victorian England, was shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize. Her 2004 debut, The Italian Boy: Murder and Grave Robbery in 1830s London, was shortlisted for the 2005 Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction and won the Crime Writers’ Association Golden Dagger. Her follow-up The Blackest Streets: The Life and Death of a Victorian Slum (2008) was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature's Ondaatje Prize. She was a contributor to the volume Charles Booth's London Poverty Maps, published by Thames & Hudson/London School of Economics, and appeared on BBC Radio 4's In Our Time to discuss Booth's work https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000wsxf For reviews www.sarahwise.co.uk/reviews.html
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
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https://www.citylit.ac.uk/introduction-to-charles-booths-london232425Introduction to Charles Booths’ Londonhttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/product/p/o/portrait_of_charles_booth__social_reformer_wellcome_m0013547.jpg179179GBPInStock/Courses/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/History/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/History/London history & walks/Courses/Online courses228511771178118417311228511771178<p>Step into the streets of Victorian London through the eyes of social reformer Charles Booth. Over six weeks, we will explore Booth’s ground-breaking survey <em>Life & Labour of the People in London</em> — a vivid and often startling portrait of the city’s social fabric, published in 17 volumes between 1889 and 1903. </p>74.92816424Introduction to Charles Booths’ London179179https://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/product/p/o/portrait_of_charles_booth__social_reformer_wellcome_m0013547_6.jpgInStockEveningTueOnlineAvailable courses5-10 weeksWeekday2026-05-05T00:00:00+00:00May 2026Culture, history & humanitiesHLW200179179Introduction to Charles Booths’ London179116179Sarah Wiseintroduction-to-charles-booths-london/hlw200-2526<p>Step into the streets of Victorian London through the eyes of social reformer Charles Booth. Over six weeks, we will explore Booth’s ground-breaking survey <em>Life & Labour of the People in London</em> — a vivid and often startling portrait of the city’s social fabric, published in 17 volumes between 1889 and 1903. </p>0000-Available|2026-05-05 00:00:00<p><strong>Using </strong><strong>Booth</strong><strong>’s famous ‘Poverty Map’, which accompanied the survey, we will take up-close looks at such neighbourhoods as Lambeth, Soho, Whitechapel/Spitalfields, Bethnal Green, Covent Garden, Docklands, Lisson Grove, complemented by historical photos/sketches and eyewitness accounts by contemporaries of </strong><strong>Booth</strong><strong>’s that either corroborate or contest his vision of London at the end of the 19th century.</strong></p><p><strong>Booth’s highly complex work will be broken down into comprehensible units so that the learner will gain an unusually high level of understanding of this massive, much-quoted but rarely fully-read survey of London life. </strong></p><p>Step into the streets of Victorian London through the eyes of social reformer Charles Booth. Over six weeks, we will explore Booth’s ground-breaking survey <em>Life & Labour of the People in London</em> — a vivid and often startling portrait of the city’s social fabric, published in 17 volumes between 1889 and 1903. </p><p><strong>Among the phenomena </strong><strong>Booth</strong><strong> investigated are: working-class political movements, women’s lives and economic status, religious/spiritual belief, late-Victorian immigrant experiences of the city, children and </strong><strong>schools, the various trades of London.</strong><br/> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Explain the basic concepts in Booth’ work </li><li>Identify the dominant socio-economic structure of late-19th-century London</li><li>Define the various political strands of thought current at the time</li><li>Recognise the characteristics of various individual London localities</li><li>Pursue further reading on these subjects, with a detailed bibliography/secondary reading list</li></ul><p> </p><p>No previous knowledge or skills are required, just curiosity and a willingness to engage with sometimes distressing data.</p><p>.. </p><p>The course will be taught by illustrated lecture and class discussion.</p><p><strong>None. Handouts will be supplied and learners will be directed to the LSE’s Booth Poverty Map website which is full of free text and images in an easy-to-use format.</strong></p><p> </p><p>Other courses on London and British history starting in September/October. Please see the City Lit website. </p>HistoryLondon history & walksvirtual179179116HLW200NONETue05/05/26 - 09/06/2619:30 - 21:3019:3021:306 sessions (over 6 weeks)65-10 weeksEveningWeekdayOnlineOnlineSarah WiseAvailable courses2026-05-05T00:00:00+00:00May 2026Culture, history & humanities179179Introduction to Charles Booths’ Londonintroduction-to-charles-booths-london/hlw200-2526<p>Step into the streets of Victorian London through the eyes of social reformer Charles Booth. Over six weeks, we will explore Booth’s ground-breaking survey <em>Life &amp; Labour of the People in London</em> — a vivid and often startling portrait of the city’s social fabric, published in 17 volumes between 1889 and 1903. </p>0000-Available|2026-05-05 00:00:00<p><strong>Using </strong><strong>Booth</strong><strong>’s famous ‘Poverty Map’, which accompanied the survey, we will take up-close looks at such neighbourhoods as Lambeth, Soho, Whitechapel/Spitalfields, Bethnal Green, Covent Garden, Docklands, Lisson Grove, complemented by historical photos/sketches and eyewitness accounts by contemporaries of </strong><strong>Booth</strong><strong>’s that either corroborate or contest his vision of London at the end of the 19th century.</strong></p><p><strong>Booth’s highly complex work will be broken down into comprehensible units so that the learner will gain an unusually high level of understanding of this massive, much-quoted but rarely fully-read survey of London life. </strong></p><p>Step into the streets of Victorian London through the eyes of social reformer Charles Booth. Over six weeks, we will explore Booth’s ground-breaking survey <em>Life &amp; Labour of the People in London</em> — a vivid and often startling portrait of the city’s social fabric, published in 17 volumes between 1889 and 1903. </p><p><strong>Among the phenomena </strong><strong>Booth</strong><strong> investigated are: working-class political movements, women’s lives and economic status, religious/spiritual belief, late-Victorian immigrant experiences of the city, children and </strong><strong>schools, the various trades of London.</strong><br/> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Explain the basic concepts in Booth’ work </li><li>Identify the dominant socio-economic structure of late-19th-century London</li><li>Define the various political strands of thought current at the time</li><li>Recognise the characteristics of various individual London localities</li><li>Pursue further reading on these subjects, with a detailed bibliography/secondary reading list</li></ul><p> </p><p>No previous knowledge or skills are required, just curiosity and a willingness to engage with sometimes distressing data.</p><p>.. </p><p>The course will be taught by illustrated lecture and class discussion.</p><p><strong>None. Handouts will be supplied and learners will be directed to the LSE’s Booth Poverty Map website which is full of free text and images in an easy-to-use format.</strong></p><p> </p><p>Other courses on London and British history starting in September/October. Please see the City Lit website. </p>HistoryLondon history & walksconfigurable
11841178London history & walkshttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/humanities/history/london-history-and-walks1/2/285/1177/1178/11841/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/History/London history & walks
