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THE PEOPLE OF THE ABYSS.
by London, Jack
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Upper corner of page xi torn away, slight discoloration to endpapers, crease to upper corner of a page of text, else a very goo
- Seller
-
Fort Bragg, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Toronto: George N. Morang & Co., 1903. First Canadian Edition. Hardcover. Upper corner of page xi torn away, slight discoloration to endpapers, crease to upper corner of a page of text, else a very good copy, quite clean and unworn. xiii, 319 pp., frontispiece (with tissue) and 80 illustratons from photographs, many full-page, original dark blue cloth with gilt titles.
Jack London's study of the poor in London. The author worked, lived, and endured for 86 days with the city of London's unfortunates. First Canadian edition from the sheets of the Macmillan & Co. first US edition, with Morang imprint on title page and Macmillan copyright and first printing notice.
Jack London's study of the poor in London. The author worked, lived, and endured for 86 days with the city of London's unfortunates. First Canadian edition from the sheets of the Macmillan & Co. first US edition, with Morang imprint on title page and Macmillan copyright and first printing notice.
Synopsis
The experiences related in this volume fell to me in the summer of 1902. I went down into the under-world of London with an attitude of mind which I may best liken to that of the explorer. I was open to be convinced by the evidence of my eyes, rather than by the teachings of those who had not seen, or by the words of those who had seen and gone before. Further, I took with me certain simple criteria with which to measure the life of the under-world. That which made for more life, for physical and spiritual health, was good; that which made for less life, which hurt, and dwarfed, and distorted life, was bad.It will be readily apparent to the reader that I saw much that was bad. Yet it must not be forgotten that the time of which I write was considered "good times" in England. The starvation and lack of shelter I encountered constituted a chronic condition of misery which is never wiped out, even in the periods of greatest prosperity.Following the summer in question came a hard winter. Great numbers of the unemployed formed into processions, as many as a dozen at a time, and daily marched through the streets of London crying for bread. Mr. Justin McCarthy, writing in the month of January 1903, to the New York Independent, briefly epitomises the situation as follows:-"The workhouses have no space left in which to pack the starving crowds who are craving every day and night at their doors for food and shelter. All the charitable institutions have exhausted their means in trying to raise supplies of food for the famishing residents of the garrets and cellars of London lanes and alleys. The quarters of the Salvation Army in various parts of London are nightly besieged by hosts of the unemployed and the hungry for whom neither shelter nor the means of sustenance can be provided."It has been urged that the criticism I have passed on things as they are in England is too pessimistic. I must say, in extenuation, that of optimists I am the most optimistic. But I measure manhood less by political aggregations than by individuals. Society grows, while political machines rack to pieces and become "scrap." For the English, so far as manhood and womanhood and health and happiness go, I see a broad and smiling future. But for a great deal of the political machinery, which at present mismanages for them, I see nothing else than the scrap heap.
Reviews
On Oct 5 2010, Ctjjc55 said:
This is a very interesting book set in London in the first decade of the twentieth century. You can read it as a social history as long as you remember what Alexander Masters writes in the foreword to the book; 'as an objective, trustworthy analysis, Abyss won’t do at all'.In 1902 Jack London moves temporarily into East End, disguised as a poor inhabitant. He observes and tells us about how the poor in East End live and how they go about their daily chores.Even if not everything in the book is considered trustworthy the stories tell us a lot of the persistence of social inequality in Britain. The atmosphere is vividly described and all that happens in the book seems genuine.Besides the stories of different people there are statistics, all showing the misery the working class lived in during the first years of the twentieth century.All together the book is absolutely worth reading, especially if you are interested in the history of England.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Chanticleer Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 23096
- Title
- THE PEOPLE OF THE ABYSS.
- Author
- London, Jack
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Upper corner of page xi torn away, slight discoloration to endpapers, crease to upper corner of a page of text, else a very goo
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Canadian Edition
- Publisher
- George N. Morang & Co.
- Place of Publication
- Toronto
- Date Published
- 1903
Terms of Sale
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About the Seller
Chanticleer Books
Biblio member since 2007
Fort Bragg, California
About Chanticleer Books
Our retail shop closed on 4/13/13. Fort Bragg office visits by appointment only.
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- Poor
- A book with significant wear and faults. A poor condition book is still a reading copy with the full text still readable. Any...
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- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
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