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Ditto Books specialise in high-quality reproductions of difficult to access historical material. Our latest titles are featured below and are available in ebook format via the Kindle Store and in hardback and paperback print editions from all good bookshops.

The Morning Chronicle's Labour and the Poor. The Complete Series (10 volumes). Includes the original Letters to the Editor.

Available in Hardback, Paperback & Kindle editions

(click on the cover for further details and previews)

An epic journey through early Victorian England and Wales. Visit the cities, towns, and villages, and hear from the people themselves about their lives, labours, and struggles for survival amidst the overwhelming poverty of the period.

This series provides an incredible snapshot of history, from the grim Dickensian alleys and courts of London, to the mills and factories of industrial Britain and the rural counties of England. We go underground in the mines of England and Wales, into the mills of Lancashire and Yorkshire and onto the fishing grounds of Cornwall. We learn about the occupations and living conditions of the people and visit them in their homes and workplaces. This and much more.

“Labour and the Poor” is the acclaimed investigation into the poor of England and Wales undertaken from 1849 to 1851 by highly respected writers and journalists on behalf of The Morning Chronicle, a leading London-based newspaper of the period. This remarkable work comprises almost 2 million words and is an unparalleled piece of investigative journalism, brought to you for the first time in its entirety, complete and unabridged, and includes the Letters to the Editor sent in by their readers in response to the shocking findings being unveiled before them.

This is on the ground reporting at its very best and we are proud to present this wonderful piece of early Victorian history.

For further information please see our detailed description of the series. You can also click on the book covers above 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.

For anyone interested in family history or social history, the “Labour and the Poor” series really is an invaluable resource.

No one who has even casually glanced over the admirable series of letters on the state of “Labour and the Poor in the Metropolitan, Rural, and Manufacturing Districts of England and Wales,” which have for several weeks past appeared in the columns of The Morning Chronicle, can resist the conviction that a more complete exposition of the real condition of the labouring population throughout the kingdom has never been given to the world.
The Sunday Times, February 3, 1850.